Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Without remembrance, a person can quietly cut themselves off from their own deepest self. They lose touch with the belonging that was always theirs.
But that belonging is never truly gone. The moment we turn back toward the One, we find we were always part of the whole.
Without remembrance we can lose touch with our own deepest self. But the way back is always open.
The verse is at its harshest here. Bin simran hai aatam ghaatee — without remembrance, a person destroys their own soul. Aatam is the soul, the deepest self. The meaning is a loss of connection, like a plant cut off from its roots. It is about forgetting, not about hurting anyone.
Then: saakat neech tis kul nahee jaatee — the one cut off from the One is low, with no family and no standing. Sikh teaching never judges anyone by birth or family. So this is about the inside. Forgetting the One is losing the sense of where you belong.
And that belonging can always be found again. Think of a bird that flies far and still knows the way back to its nest. You were never really cut off. Turn back, and you are home.
Even when you feel disconnected from everything, could it be that you were part of the whole all along?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI