Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Keep the Name of the One in mind, steadily, day by day. A life lived without it drifts and belongs to no one; but a life that remembers is your own, and it is full.
Remember the Name every day, and your life becomes full and truly your own.
This is the Rahao, the "pause" line. It is the center of the whole shabad, the line everything else circles around. Har har naam japahu nit — remember the Name, day after day. Har is a name for the One.
The second line uses strong words. It calls a life without the Name dharig, a shame, and bigaanee, "not your own," like something borrowed that has to be handed back. The heart of it is the other side. A life that remembers is full, and it truly belongs to you.
Think of a room you actually live in, with your things on the shelves. Now think of a room you are only passing through. Remembering every day is what turns the first kind of life into yours.
What small thing done daily makes your life feel more fully your own?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI