ਮਹਾ ਗਰੀਬ ਜਨ ਸਾਧ ਅਨਾਥ ॥
mahaa gareeb jan saaDh anaath.
I am the poorest and most helpless servant of the Holy.
ਨਾਨਕ ਪ੍ਰਭਿ ਰਾਖੇ ਦੇ ਹਾਥ ॥੪॥੮੫॥੧੫੪॥
naanak parabh raakhay day haath. ||4||85||154||
O Nanak, giving me His Hand, God has protected me. ||4||85||154||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
I may feel like the poorest, most helpless one of all — and still, the One reaches out a hand and holds me safe. No one is too small to be caught and kept.
Even at your smallest and most helpless, the One reaches out a hand and holds you safe.
The Nanak closing line. Mahaa gareeb... anaath — "utterly poor, helpless, without protector" — is turned, in the same breath, into rescue: prabh raakhay day haath, "God protects, giving His hand." The self-description of smallness becomes empty-handedness toward grace (see care rules): the emptier the hand, the more surely it is taken.
A Question to Sit With
When you feel small or stuck, who reaches out a hand to you?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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