Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Without You, I look around and see no true friend anywhere.
Whom would I serve? To whom would I give my whole heart?
Whom would I ask? At whose feet would I sit to learn?
By whose teaching could I stay steadily absorbed in this love?
The heart asks many questions, and they all lead to one answer: the One is the true friend.
This verse is all longing, all questions. Tujh bin ko-ay na daykh-a-u meet — without You, I see no friend. Then the Guru asks: whom should I serve? To whom should I give my heart? Whom should I ask? At whose feet should I sit?
These questions are not doubt. They are the heart narrowing down to one answer. Think of a child in a big crowd who keeps looking around, and then spots a parent's face. All the looking ends in that one face.
This is ik, Oneness, felt up close. There is no second one to turn to. It is the Guru's own heart speaking of the One as the deepest friend and safe place. It does not tell anyone to go without human friends, teachers, or help. Those are gifts too.
Who is the person you'd turn to first with your biggest question — and what makes you trust them that much?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI