ਮਛੁਲੀ ਹੋਵਾ ਜਲਿ ਬਸਾ ਜੀਅ ਜੰਤ ਸਭਿ ਸਾਰਿ ॥
machhulee hovaa jal basaa jee-a jant sabh saar.
If I were to become a fish, living in the water, I would still remember the Lord, who watches over all beings and creatures.
ਉਰਵਾਰਿ ਪਾਰਿ ਮੇਰਾ ਸਹੁ ਵਸੈ ਹਉ ਮਿਲਉਗੀ ਬਾਹ ਪਸਾਰਿ ॥੩॥
urvaar paar mayraa saho vasai ha-o mila-ugee baah pasaar. ||3||
My Husband Lord dwells on this shore, and on the shore beyond; I would still meet Him, and hug Him close in my embrace. ||3||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
If I were a fish living in the water, I would still remember the One who watches over every creature. My Beloved is on this shore and the far shore both -- and I would still reach him and hold him close.
Like a fish to water, the soul belongs to the One -- who is on both shores at once.
The fish -- which cannot live a moment out of water -- becomes the soul that cannot live without the One (an image Gurbani uses for utter dependence). The Beloved is on both shores -- this life and the next, the near and the far -- so there is nowhere the soul could be separated from him (Ik Onkar).
A Question to Sit With
Is there someone or something you feel you simply could not live without?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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