ਕਿਆ ਕੋਈ ਤੇਰੀ ਸੇਵਾ ਕਰੇ ਕਿਆ ਕੋ ਕਰੇ ਅਭਿਮਾਨਾ ॥
ki-aa ko-ee tayree sayvaa karay ki-aa ko karay abhimaanaa.
How can I serve You? How can I be proud of this?
ਜਬ ਅਪੁਨੀ ਜੋਤਿ ਖਿੰਚਹਿ ਤੂ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਤਬ ਕੋਈ ਕਰਉ ਦਿਖਾ ਵਖਿਆਨਾ ॥੨॥
jab apunee jot khincheh too su-aamee tab ko-ee kara-o dikhaa vakhi-aanaa. ||2||
When You withdraw Your Light, O Lord and Master, then who can speak and teach? ||2||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
How could I serve You on my own? And what would I even have to feel proud of?
The moment You drew back the living spark inside me, who could stand up and speak or teach at all? Every bit of my doing borrows Your light.
Every word you speak runs on a light you did not light yourself.
Jot is the living spark that makes speech and action possible; jab apunee jot khincheh — when You withdraw it — reminds us the whole show runs on borrowed light. Pride shrinks naturally in front of that.
A Question to Sit With
What would stop the moment you forgot how to breathe? Who keeps that going?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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