Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
So serve your own True Guru. Why wander around lost and unlucky?
You see the bright safflower, whose color soon fades. Why get stuck on it?
Stay close to the Guru, and enjoy bright things without handing them your heart.
This is the Rahao, the "pause" line. It is the center of the shabad.
Satgur sayvhu aapnaa — serve your own true teacher. Satgur means the True Guru, the teacher who shows the way. To serve means to stay close and learn.
Daykh kasumbhaa rangulaa — you see the bright safflower. Kasumbhaa is a flower that gives a brilliant red dye. But the color fades very fast. In Gurbani it stands for the world's pretty pleasures that do not last. Think of a new toy that shines on Monday and sits in a drawer by Friday. The advice is balance, not saying no to everything. Enjoy it, but give your heart to what lasts.
What is something fun that you know will not last — and is that okay?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI