Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
If You gave nothing, what could anyone ever offer back?
Everything we hold, we first received. Nanak prays: whatever comes to us was already being given.
We have nothing to bargain with that was not first a gift.
Jay too kisai na dayhee ki-aa ko kadhai gahnaa — if You gave nothing, what jewel could anyone offer back? Picture a birthday present bought with money a grandparent gave you. The gift is real and loving, but it started as theirs. This thought is quiet, and it sets us free.
Purab likhay kaa lahnaa is often read as "receiving what was written beforehand." The kinder way to hear it is this: we receive what was already ours to be given. Grace arrives before we could ever earn it.
What is something good in your life that you did not earn but simply received?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI