Sikhism·Raag Bilaaval·Shabad 54
Verse 4 of 5

The Lion Becomes a Kitten

ਸਿੰਘੁ ਬਿਲਾਈ ਹੋਇ ਗਇਓ ਤ੍ਰਿਣੁ ਮੇਰੁ ਦਿਖੀਤਾ ॥
singh bilaa-ee ho-ay ga-i-o tarin mayr dikheetaa.
The lion becomes a cat, and the mountain looks like a blade of grass.
ਸ੍ਰਮੁ ਕਰਤੇ ਦਮ ਆਢ ਕਉ ਤੇ ਗਨੀ ਧਨੀਤਾ ॥੩॥
saram kartay dam aadh ka-o tay ganee Dhaneetaa. ||3||
Those who worked for half a shell, will be judged very wealthy. ||3||

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa

In plain words

When your heart is steady, the things that once roared like a lion shrink down to a harmless kitten. The huge mountain of worry looks as small as a blade of grass.

And the person who scraped by with almost nothing turns out to be rich in all the ways that matter.

What once looked huge and scary can shrink to nothing when your heart is steady.
The deeper layer

With the One, big fears shrink, and those with little turn out to be rich.

Singh bilaa-ee ho-ay ga-i-o means the lion becomes a cat. Trin mayr dikheetaa means the mountain looks like a blade of grass. The things that scared us or blocked our way become small.

Think of the first day at a new school. The hallways seem huge and scary. A few weeks later, with a friend beside you, the same hallways feel easy and small.

Saram kartay dam aadh ka-o tay ganee dhaneetaa means those who worked hard for half a shell, almost nothing, are counted as very rich. The world's scorecard is turned upside down. What makes someone truly rich is not money in the bank, but the One in the heart.

A Question to Sit With

Has something that once seemed scary ever turned out to be small?

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI

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