Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
The One holds those who turn to it close, like being gathered into a warm and safe embrace.
So let me take shelter there, and keep the Name of the One in my heart. That is where I am truly safe.
The closing signature is pure tenderness. Apunay daas raakhai kanth laa-ay — "He keeps His servants clasped to His heart." Kanth laa-ay is the image of being held close in an embrace, the way a parent gathers up a frightened child. After a shabad about justice and cruelty, it ends not on the fall of the cruel but on the safety of the sheltered. The last word is saran — sanctuary. In the shabad's devotional register, the deepest protection is simply being held.
Where — or with whom — do you feel most held and safe when the world feels frightening?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI