Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Everything that begins in time also passes — that is simply how the world moves. Yet I feel held and safe, kept close by the One, because I sit with the words of the teaching and take them into my heart.
This is the Rahao, the "pause" line, the center of the shabad.
Jo upjai so kaal sanghaari-aa — whatever is born is taken, in time, by kaal. Kaal means time, change, and death all at once. Nanak does not leave this as something scary. He answers it right away. Ham har raakhay — I am held by the One.
The safety here is not escaping change. It is being rooted in what does not change. Think of a tree in a storm. The branches toss, but the roots hold. Those roots grow through gur sabad beechaari-aa, thinking deeply about the Guru's Word.
From here on, the shabad measures everything against this. The changing stands beside the Unchanging, and each of us chooses where to rest.
What is something steady you can hold onto when you notice that things around you keep changing?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI