O mother, I hear of death, and think of it, and I am filled with fear.

ਜੋ ਜੋ ਕਹੈ ਸੋਈ ਭਲ ਮਾਨਉ ਨਾਹਿ ਨ ਕਾ ਬੋਲ ਕਰਤ ॥

jo jo kahai soiee bhal maanau naeh na kaa bol karat ||

Whatever He says, I accept that as good. I do not say "No" to what He says.

ਨਿਮਖ ਨ ਬਿਸਰਉ ਹੀਏ ਮੋਰੇ ਤੇ ਬਿਸਰਤ ਜਾਈ ਹਉ ਮਰਤ ॥੧॥

nimakh na bisarau he'ee more te bisarat jaiee hau marat ||1||

Let me not forget Him, even for an instant; forgetting Him, I die. ||1||

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa

In plain words

Whatever the One says, I take it as good; I do not answer 'no' to it.

Let me not forget it even for a breath — forgetting it, I would truly die.

Real living is staying connected to what's true; real dying is forgetting it — and that can happen even while you're still breathing.

The deeper layer

Here is deep alignment with Hukam: "whatever it says, I take as good." This is not blind obedience to a tyrant; it is trust in a wisdom larger than your own preferences — the settled sense that the flow of existence, even when it crosses your wishes, is not against you. And the second line redefines death itself: real death is not the body stopping; it is forgetting the One. To live remembering is to be truly alive; to live having forgotten is a kind of death while still breathing. So the plea "let me not forget, even for a breath" is a plea for life in its truest sense.

A Question to Sit With

What does it mean to be 'alive' in the deepest way — is it more than just your heart beating?

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

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