Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Dear One, keep the honor of the one who loves You.
Help me say Your Naam. I ask for only one gift: loving devotion.
Those who love the One and sing the One's Word are dear to the One. The whole heavy record of old mistakes is simply wiped clean.
There is just one gift to ask for: love for the One.
This is the Rahao, the "pause" line at the center of the shabad. ham maagee bhagat ikaakee — I ask for one thing only, bhagat, loving devotion. It is like a child on a birthday who only wants to spend the day with a parent. Nothing else on the list matters.
Then the verse uses the picture of an account book. In old stories, two record-keepers, Chitr and Gupt, wrote down every deed. A messenger of death came to collect what was owed. The verse turns this picture firmly toward hope. sabh chhootee jam kee baakee — the whole unpaid account is wiped away. The fear is gone. What is left is a clean slate, and love is what cleans it.
If you could wipe one worry off your list, which would you choose?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI