Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Something turned over inside me — I became, in a way, alive and awake at the same time, as if a sleeping part of me finally opened its eyes.
Saying the word, my mind fastened itself to the One.
I gathered up the real sweetness and quietly let go of the poison of grasping.
Resting in that love, even the fear of death got up and left.
When the grabbing, "me-first" self goes quiet, a deeper part of you wakes up.
Ulat bha-ee jeevat mar jaagi-aa — something turned around, and dying while alive, I woke up. Jeevat mar, "dead while alive," is a big idea in Gurbani. It does not mean anything sad or scary. It means the small, grabbing self goes quiet, so a deeper, truer life can wake up. Jaagi-aa means woke up. It is a picture of waking.
Think of a phone that finally stops buzzing with alerts. In the quiet, you notice the sunshine and the people right beside you.
Ras sangrahi bikh parhar ti-aagi-aa — I gathered the sweetness and threw out the poison. Ras is the real sweetness. Bikh is the poison of grasping. That is the trade.
Jam kaa bha-o bhaagi-aa — even the fear of death ran away. This is relief and freedom. Resting in love, even that big fear gets up and leaves.
Is there a part of you that feels more awake when you stop trying so hard to protect yourself?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI