Sikhism·Raag Dhanaasaree·Shabad 93
Verse 4 of 9

The Swan and the Pool

ਸਰਵਰ ਹੰਸਾ ਛੋਡਿ ਨ ਜਾਇ ॥
sarvar hansaa chhod na jaa-ay.
The swan do not leave this pool.
ਪ੍ਰੇਮ ਭਗਤਿ ਕਰਿ ਸਹਜਿ ਸਮਾਇ ॥
paraym bhagat kar sahj samaa-ay.
In loving devotional worship, they merge in the Celestial Lord.
ਸਰਵਰ ਮਹਿ ਹੰਸੁ ਹੰਸ ਮਹਿ ਸਾਗਰੁ ॥
sarvar meh hans hans meh saagar.
The swans are in the pool, and the pool is in the swans.
ਅਕਥ ਕਥਾ ਗੁਰ ਬਚਨੀ ਆਦਰੁ ॥੩॥
akath kathaa gur bachnee aadar. ||3||
They speak the Unspoken Speech, and they honor and revere the Guru's Word. ||3||

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa

In plain words

The swans never leave this clear pool. Why would they? Everything they need is here.

Loving the One with their whole heart, they settle into a deep, natural ease.

The swan lives in the pool, and the whole pool lives inside the swan — each one holds the other.

They speak of what words can barely hold, and they honor the words that guide them.

The drop holds the ocean that holds the drop.
The deeper layer

The swan lives in the pool, and the pool lives in the swan. That is how close we are to the One.

Sarvar meh hans hans meh saagar — the swan is in the pool, and the pool is in the swan. Each holds the other. It is like a drop of water in the ocean. The drop is in the ocean, and the ocean is in the drop too.

Akath kathaa is the "unspoken speech." It is something you can live, but can never fully put into words. Think of how you feel about someone you love. You can show it every day, but words never quite cover it.

A Question to Sit With

Can you think of something you belong to that also lives inside you?

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

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