Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
If none of it is really yours, why cling so tightly? The one thing that is truly yours is the Name, and it comes to you from the true teacher.
Almost everything is borrowed, but the Name is truly yours.
This is the Rahao, the "pause" line at the center of the shabad. It asks a question and then gives a gift.
The question: aapan nahee kaa ka-o laptaa-i-o — if it is not yours, why cling to it? The gift: aapan naam satgur tay paa-i-o — the Name alone is yours, and it comes from the true teacher. The Naam, the Name, means living close to the One.
Here is the whole shabad in two lines. Everything we grab is on loan. The one thing we never think to claim is the one that is really, forever ours. Picture hands full of toys you must give back. Only when you open them is there room to receive the real gift.
If you could truly keep only one thing forever, what would you want it to be?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI