It's easy to drift half-asleep, wrapped up in good things until you forget their source; the gentle call is to wake toward what lasts.
The Arc
Guru Tegh Bahadur addresses the seekers: this world drifts along fooled by its own confusion, having set down remembrance and handed itself to Maya. The first verse tenderly notes how the heart wraps itself in the warm ties of family and the glow of youth, wealth, and standing. The close names the ender of sorrow who is right here, yet with whom the mind so rarely rests — while here and there a rare one turns toward the Guide and comes to know Him.
Key Vocabulary
bharam bhulaanaa: wandering, fooled by confusion
bikaanaa: sold, given over
laptaanaa: wrapped up, entangled
mad mai: dazzled, intoxicated
gurmukh: one turned toward the Guide
Themes and Cross-Connections
This shabad carries the classic Mehl 9 memento-mori tone, rendered per the project's wellbeing care as a gentle wake-up toward what lasts rather than as fear or morbidity. The love of family is observed tenderly, not condemned; the rare gurmukh is an invitation, not a rebuke of everyone else.
For Raag Dhanaasaree
Dhanaasaree's ache is heard here as a homesickness the sleeping world has forgotten — the raag's longing pointing back toward the source the heart wandered from.
Translation Notes
The Mehl 9 imagery of a world 'sold to Maya' and forgetting the One is rendered as a gentle wake-up to what lasts, never as fear of death or morbidity; the love of family is framed as tender observation, not blame.
It's easy to drift half-asleep, wrapped up in good things until you forget their source; the gentle call is to wake toward what lasts.
The Arc
Guru Tegh Bahadur addresses the seekers: this world drifts along fooled by its own confusion, having set down remembrance and handed itself to Maya. The first verse tenderly notes how the heart wraps itself in the warm ties of family and the glow of youth, wealth, and standing. The close names the ender of sorrow who is right here, yet with whom the mind so rarely rests — while here and there a rare one turns toward the Guide and comes to know Him.
Key Vocabulary
Themes and Cross-Connections
This shabad carries the classic Mehl 9 memento-mori tone, rendered per the project's wellbeing care as a gentle wake-up toward what lasts rather than as fear or morbidity. The love of family is observed tenderly, not condemned; the rare gurmukh is an invitation, not a rebuke of everyone else.
For Raag Dhanaasaree
Dhanaasaree's ache is heard here as a homesickness the sleeping world has forgotten — the raag's longing pointing back toward the source the heart wandered from.
Translation Notes
The Mehl 9 imagery of a world 'sold to Maya' and forgetting the One is rendered as a gentle wake-up to what lasts, never as fear of death or morbidity; the love of family is framed as tender observation, not blame.
Last updated: 2026-07-08