Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
My banker is the great One; I am only a small trader working with what was lent to me. This soul and this body are entirely the One's. It is the One who ends life and the One who gives it back.
We are like small traders using money the One has lent us, and everything we have belongs to the One.
Guru Nanak ends in the language of the marketplace. Saahu hamaaraa thaakur bhaaraa — my banker is the great Master. Ham tis kay vanjaaray — I am only a small trader for Him. The One gives all the capital. We work with what is lent to us.
Jee-o pind sabh raas tisai kee — this soul and this body are all the One's. When we see that, the feeling of "mine" melts away. So does the fear of death. Maar aapay jeevaalay — the same One ends life and gives it again.
Think of borrowing a bike from a kind neighbor. You ride it with care, knowing it was always theirs. The shabad began in worry about death. It ends in calm trust in the Giver.
How might it feel to treat your time and gifts as borrowed, to use well rather than to own?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI