Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
I can hardly find words good enough to praise the One who tends this whole world.
We are heavy as stones, sinking in the water. Be kind, and carry us stones across.
The rust that builds up over a long time is scrubbed away in the Sangat, the way gold is warmed in the fire until only the pure gold is left.
Even a heavy stone can cross the water when grace carries it.
This is the Rahao, the "pause" line at the center of the shabad. Ham paapee paathar neer dubat kar kirpaa paakhan ham taaree — we have gone wrong and sink like stones in water; be kind, and carry us stones across. Calling ourselves paapee, people who have done wrong, is not putting ourselves down. It is being honest that our hands are empty. We lean on grace, the way a tired swimmer holds on to a float.
Then comes a bright picture: kanchan baisantar taa-i-o, gold heated in the fire. The fire does not burn the gold away. It only removes the dirt that made it dull. The Sangat works the same way. The good in us stays. Only what dulls it goes.
What is something hard about yourself that got lighter with the right people around you?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI