Sikhism·Raag Gauree·Shabad 221
Verse 4 of 4

When the Spinning Quiets, Natural Joy Remains

ਸਹਜ ਕੇਲ ਅਨਦ ਖੇਲ ਰਹੇ ਫੇਰ ਭਏ ਮੇਲ ॥
sahj kayl anad khayl rahay fayr bha-ay mayl.
I enjoy intuitive peace, and I play in bliss; the cycle of reincarnation is ended for me, and I am merged with the Lord.
ਨਾਨਕ ਗੁਰ ਸਬਦਿ ਪਰਾਤੋ ॥੩॥੪॥੧੫੭॥
naanak gur sabad paraato. ||3||4||157||
Nanak is pierced through with the Word of the Guru's Shabad. ||3||4||157||

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa

In plain words

I live now in an easy, natural peace, playing in pure delight. The old restless spinning has quieted, and I feel joined again to the whole. My heart is threaded right through by the teaching's living word.

When the restless spinning quiets, an easy, natural joy is what remains.
The deeper layer

The close names sahj — natural, effortless ease — and anad khayl, "the play of bliss." Fayr bha-ay mayl signals the end of the anxious spinning of the separate self and a re-merging with the whole; the wellbeing lens reads this as inner reunion rather than any frightening cycle. The final image is vivid: gur sabad paraato, "pierced through by the Guru's word," like a needle threading cloth or a jewel strung on a cord — held, connected, unable to fall away.

A Question to Sit With

When do you feel a calm that isn't boring — a peace that's actually full of quiet joy?

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

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