Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
O mind, cross the wide water with the Name of the Oneness holding you up. The world can feel like a churning sea, full of waves of worry and doubt. But the teaching is a strong, sturdy boat — climb aboard, and it carries you all the way to the far shore.
This is the Rahao, the "pause" line, the center of the shabad. It gives the big picture: life is a sea, and the teaching is the boat.
Saagar lahar sansaa sansaar — the world is an ocean, and its waves are sansaa, doubt and cynicism. Cynicism means always expecting the worst. The mind is told to cross dhar, holding on to, the Name.
And the boat? Gur bohith paar garaamano — the Guru, the teaching itself, is the boat that carries you across. Picture a stormy lake, and a sturdy ferry with a seat saved for you. You do not have to swim the whole way yourself.
This crossing picture comes back again and again in Raag Gauree. Each time, the comfort is the same: a boat has been given.
When the waves of worry come, what is the boat you climb into?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI