Verse 4 of 5
Every Body Has Its Use, and a Hard Word for a Life Without the Name
ਸਗਲ ਸਰੀਰ ਆਵਤ ਸਭ ਕਾਮ ॥
sagal sareer aavat sabh kaam.
All bodies are of some use,
ਨਿਹਫਲ ਮਾਨੁਖੁ ਜਪੈ ਨਹੀ ਨਾਮ ॥੩॥
nihfal maanukh japai nahee naam. ||3||
but those who do not meditate on the Naam, the Name of the Lord, are totally useless. ||3||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Every body is made for some good purpose. The one thing that leaves a life truly empty is never once turning toward the Name -- never letting the deeper thing in.
Every body has its use — and the verse keeps a hard word, fruitless, for a life that never turns toward the Name.
Sagal sareer aavat sabh kaam -- every body is of some use. Nihfal maanukh japai nahee naam -- fruitless is the person who does not remember the Name. We render nihfal (fruitless) as 'truly empty' -- the gentle point being not worthlessness but unrealized purpose. That reframing is ours, offered pastorally: nihfal is a severe word, and the verse lays it squarely on the one who does not remember the Name.
A Question to Sit With
What do you think makes a life feel full rather than empty?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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