Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Soak yourself through with the color of the One's love, the way cloth drinks in a dye until the color is all the way through. With every word, hold the One — and ask for nothing but this.
Guru Arjan asks us to let love for the One soak all the way through us, like dye through cloth.
This is the Rahao, the "pause" line at the center of the shabad. Here it comes first, right after the opening blessing: Ik Onkar, "One Creator," known by the Guru's grace.
Naaraa-in har rang rango — dye yourself in the color of the love of Naaraa-in and Har, two names for the One. Guru Nanak loved this dye picture too, and he opens it up fully in a shabad in Raag Tilang. Think of a white T-shirt dropped into a bucket of blue dye. It does not just get a blue spot. It turns blue all the way through. That is the love meant here, not a stain on the surface.
Jap jihvaa har ayk mango — say the Name with your tongue, and ask for the One alone. The rest of the shabad is a how-to for this dyeing.
What is something you love so completely that it colors everything you do?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI