Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Everyone says 'mine, mine' and attaches themselves to you fondly.
But at the very last moment, not one of them goes with you. How strange are the ways of the world!
The verse gently exposes the word "mine." People say "mine, mine" — claiming us, and we them — in a web of belonging that feels utterly solid. And yet, Guru Tegh Bahadur observes, at the final threshold "none shall go along with you." This is not meant to make us love our people less, but to hold that love in truth: even the dearest human bonds have a limit that the One's companionship does not (recall Shabad 33, the One "who always keeps me company" and "never leaves"). "How strange are the ways of the world" is spoken almost with wonder — a gentle marveling at how we invest total security in bonds that, however precious, cannot finally cross with us. The teaching is not to withdraw from love but to know which Love is unconditional.
You can love your people dearly and still know that one Love is the one that never leaves. How do those two fit together?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI