ਨਾ ਜਾਣਾ ਕਰਮ ਕੇਵਡ ਤੇਰੀ ਦਾਤਿ ॥
naa jaanaa karam kayvad tayree daat.
I do not know about karma, or how great Your gifts are.
ਕਰਮੁ ਧਰਮੁ ਤੇਰੇ ਨਾਮ ਕੀ ਜਾਤਿ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
karam Dharam tayray naam kee jaat. ||1|| rahaa-o.
The karma of actions, the Dharma of righteousness, social class and status, are contained within Your Name. ||1||Pause||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
I cannot measure my own actions, or how huge your gifts are. Everything -- what we do, what is right, where we stand in the world -- all of it lives inside your Name.
Everything you might be ranked by lives inside the One's Name, not in your birth.
The Rahao. Action, righteousness, caste, and status -- everything a person is judged by -- is contained within the Name. This is a quiet demolition of caste pride: commentators read this as making status a function of one's relation to the One rather than a fact of birth.
A Question to Sit With
What do people get "ranked" by that might matter less than we think?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
Use ← → to navigate