Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
I come with empty hands, so little to show — yet I ask that goodness be poured into me all the same. And when mercy flows, this small servant is carried safely across.
Come with empty hands, and mercy carries you across.
The literal says, "I am a sinner, without merit." The spirit of it is empty hands held out to grace. Nirgun ka-o gun karee-ai — make someone with no goodness into someone good. This is not hating yourself. It is honest smallness, reaching for a gift it cannot earn.
Prabh ho-ay da-i-aal — when the One becomes kind. Jan taree-ai — the humble one is ferried across, like a boat carrying you over a wide river.
Think of a small child holding up empty hands to be picked up. The whole shabad lands here. Not on what we achieve, but on mercy meeting open hands.
Is it easier to ask for help when you admit you cannot do it all alone? Why do you think that is?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI