Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
With the puffed-up self gone, peace and stillness fill my soul.
A light woke in me and merged into the greater Light, the way a small flame joins a fire.
What was written deep in me cannot be rubbed out; the teaching itself is my banner and my sign.
I have come to know the Maker, the One making all that is made.
When pride is gone, your small light joins the great Light.
Garab gatan — pride is gone. Then peace comes, and stillness. Jot bha-ee jotee maahi samaanaa — the light rose and merged into the Light. Jot is light.
This is Gurbani's central picture of union. The small light joins the great Light and loses nothing. Think of a candle carried into a bonfire. It becomes part of the bigger flame.
Likhat mitai nahee — what is written cannot be rubbed out. It is the deep mark grace leaves inside. Sabad neesaanaa — the shabad, the Guru's Word, is my flag and my sign. It is what I now stand under.
The verse ends in knowing. Kartaa karnaa kartaa jaanaa — I know the Maker in everything made.
Have you ever felt like part of something much bigger than yourself? What was that like?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI