Sikhism·Raag Gauree·Shabad 160
Verse 4 of 5

Effort Ripens When Love Is Its Root

ਤਾ ਕੀ ਪੂਰਨ ਹੋਈ ਘਾਲ ॥ ਜਾ ਕੀ ਪ੍ਰੀਤਿ ਅਪੁਨੇ ਪ੍ਰਭ ਨਾਲਿ ॥੩॥
taa kee pooran ho-ee ghaal. jaa kee pareet apunay parabh naal. ||3||
Those who place their love in God - their works are brought to fruition. ||3||

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa

In plain words

When a person truly places their love in the One, all their efforts ripen and come to something real.

Love is the thing that makes the work bear fruit.

Effort ripens into something real when love is the root of it.
The deeper layer

Taa kee pooran ho-ee ghaal — "their labor is completed, fulfilled." Ghaal is hard effort, toil. The pauri says effort ripens when it is rooted in preet, love, for the One. Without love, work can be busy and endless yet never quite arrive; with love, the same work finds completion. The previous pauri praised practices; this one names the ingredient that makes them come alive — genuine love rather than mechanical repetition.

A Question to Sit With

Have you noticed the difference between doing something out of duty and doing it out of love?

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI

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