Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
My wrongs are as vast as the water filling all the seas and oceans. Please pour your mercy over me. I am a stone, sinking -- carry me across.
When you are sinking like a stone, mercy is what carries you across.
Jaytaa samund saagar neer bhari-aa taytay a-ugan hamaaray — as much water as fills the seas and oceans, that many are my faults. The confession reaches its peak.
Then comes a prayer. Da-i-aa karahu kichh mihar upaavhu — show kindness, pour out a little mercy. Dubday pathar taaray — carry the sinking stone across. A stone cannot float by its own weight, however hard it tries. It needs a boat.
This is the heart of the shabad. Grace carries us, not our own good record. And that is exactly why it is grace: the soul is asking for what it could never earn. Think of a friend who carries your heavy bag when you simply cannot lift it anymore.
When have you needed help you could not earn? What did receiving it feel like?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI