Hands, tongue, feet, eyes, ears — the whole body enlisted in devotion, and the shabad's closing word that this hard-won human life is redeemed.
The Arc
This shabad is a catalogue of embodied devotion, limb by limb. Pauri 0: hands do good work, tongue sings, feet walk the path. The Rahao (Pauri 1): any moment of remembrance is a good moment, and the Name ferries the soul across the frightening world-ocean. Pauri 2: with the eyes, behold the good, and let the true One be written into the mind. Pauri 3: with the ears, listen to shared song, and the dread of change departs. Pauri 4: hold the beautiful presence in the heart, and this rare life is redeemed.
Key Vocabulary
tahal: service, good work done with the hands
baree-aa: the right moment / turn — every moment of remembrance is a good one
bhai paar utree-aa: crossing over the fearful world-ocean (bhavjal)
darsan paykh: beholding the vision of the good with the eyes
dulabh dayh nistaar: the rare human life, redeemed / carried across
Themes and Cross-Connections
The whole-body catalogue is a distinctive Gurbani form; here it makes devotion concrete and un-abstract for a child — every limb has a part. The dulabh dayh close — traditionally read as the rarity and preciousness of human birth — ties directly back to Shabad 106. The world-ocean crossing (Rahao) recurs in Shabad 120 (agan saagar paar utaaray) and echoes Shabad 1's bhavjal.
For Raag Gauree
Gauree's grounded steadiness suits a shabad that keeps devotion in the body and the ordinary day rather than in abstraction.
Hands, tongue, feet, eyes, ears — the whole body enlisted in devotion, and the shabad's closing word that this hard-won human life is redeemed.
The Arc
This shabad is a catalogue of embodied devotion, limb by limb. Pauri 0: hands do good work, tongue sings, feet walk the path. The Rahao (Pauri 1): any moment of remembrance is a good moment, and the Name ferries the soul across the frightening world-ocean. Pauri 2: with the eyes, behold the good, and let the true One be written into the mind. Pauri 3: with the ears, listen to shared song, and the dread of change departs. Pauri 4: hold the beautiful presence in the heart, and this rare life is redeemed.
Key Vocabulary
Themes and Cross-Connections
The whole-body catalogue is a distinctive Gurbani form; here it makes devotion concrete and un-abstract for a child — every limb has a part. The dulabh dayh close — traditionally read as the rarity and preciousness of human birth — ties directly back to Shabad 106. The world-ocean crossing (Rahao) recurs in Shabad 120 (agan saagar paar utaaray) and echoes Shabad 1's bhavjal.
For Raag Gauree
Gauree's grounded steadiness suits a shabad that keeps devotion in the body and the ordinary day rather than in abstraction.