Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Children, husband or wife, brothers and sisters — in the deepest sense, they are not yours to keep.
Dear friends, mother, and father — they too are not yours to keep.
Even the people we love most are gifts to love, not things to own.
This is the gentlest and most delicate line. Sut banitaa... isat meet aap baap na maa-ee — children, husband or wife, brothers and sisters, dear friends, mother and father are not yours.
It is easy to misunderstand. It does not mean love them less. It does not mean they do not matter. It means they are not possessions. They are given to us, precious, and held by life itself.
Think of holding a small bird in open hands. Squeeze, and you hurt it. Keep your hands open, and it can stay and sing. Loving people while knowing you cannot own them is the deepest and least worried way to love. The verse sets love free from the fear of losing.
Does loving someone feel different when you stop trying to hold on so tightly?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI