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Sikhism·Raag Gauree·Shabad 294
Verse 55 of 112

Give Your Effort to the One and None Come Away Empty

ਪਉੜੀ ॥
pa-orhee.
Pauree:
ਟਹਲ ਕਰਹੁ ਤਉ ਏਕ ਕੀ ਜਾ ਤੇ ਬ੍ਰਿਥਾ ਨ ਕੋਇ ॥
tahal karahu ta-o ayk kee jaa tay baritha na ko-ay.
Work for the One Lord; no one returns empty-handed from Him.
ਮਨਿ ਤਨਿ ਮੁਖਿ ਹੀਐ ਬਸੈ ਜੋ ਚਾਹਹੁ ਸੋ ਹੋਇ ॥
man tan mukh hee-ai basai jo chaahhu so ho-ay.
When the Lord abides within your mind, body, mouth and heart, then whatever you desire shall come to pass.
ਟਹਲ ਮਹਲ ਤਾ ਕਉ ਮਿਲੈ ਜਾ ਕਉ ਸਾਧ ਕ੍ਰਿਪਾਲ ॥
tahal mahal taa ka-o milai jaa ka-o saaDh kirpaal.
He alone obtains the Lord's service, and the Mansion of His Presence, unto whom the Holy Saint is compassionate.
ਸਾਧੂ ਸੰਗਤਿ ਤਉ ਬਸੈ ਜਉ ਆਪਨ ਹੋਹਿ ਦਇਆਲ ॥
saaDhoo sangat ta-o basai ja-o aapan hohi da-i-aal.
He joins the Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, only when the Lord Himself shows His Mercy.
ਟੋਹੇ ਟਾਹੇ ਬਹੁ ਭਵਨ ਬਿਨੁ ਨਾਵੈ ਸੁਖੁ ਨਾਹਿ ॥
tohay taahay baho bhavan bin naavai sukh naahi.
I have searched and searched, across so many worlds, but without the Name, there is no peace.
ਟਲਹਿ ਜਾਮ ਕੇ ਦੂਤ ਤਿਹ ਜੁ ਸਾਧੂ ਸੰਗਿ ਸਮਾਹਿ ॥
taleh jaam kay doot tih jo saaDhoo sang samaahi.
The Messenger of Death retreats from those who dwell in the Saadh Sangat.
ਬਾਰਿ ਬਾਰਿ ਜਾਉ ਸੰਤ ਸਦਕੇ ॥
baar baar jaa-o sant sadkay.
Again and again, I am forever devoted to the Saints.
ਨਾਨਕ ਪਾਪ ਬਿਨਾਸੇ ਕਦਿ ਕੇ ॥੨੭॥
naanak paap binaasay kad kay. ||27||
O Nanak, my sins from so long ago have been erased. ||27||

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa

In plain words

Give your effort to the One, and you’ll find no one comes away empty-handed. When the One lives in your mind and body, in your words and your heart, then what you deeply long for comes to pass.

Getting to serve the One, and drawing near to that Presence, comes to the person the Saints are kind to — and you find the Sangat only when mercy itself arranges it.

I searched and searched across so many worlds, and found this: without the Name there is no peace. Where people dwell in the Sangat, even the fear of death steps back and lets them be. Again and again my heart bows to the Saints — and, Nanak says, the weight of long-ago mistakes is wiped clean.

Give your effort to the One and no one comes away empty-handed — in the Sangat, even the fear of death steps back, and old mistakes are wiped clean.
The deeper layer

Tatta is a Pauri of fruitful service. Koi na aavai reeto — "no one returns empty-handed" from working for the One — a promise of generosity. For those in saadhsang, the Sangat, even the fear of death steps back. Grace, doubled: you get to serve, and you find the Sangat, when the Lord Himself shows mercy — all of it a gift. Paap purbla... mit — the weight of long-ago mistakes is wiped clean — release. And sarbat thai... avar na doojaa underlies the whole: search all the worlds, and peace is found only in the Name.

A Question to Sit With

What is the difference between working for a reward and working for something you love? Which one leaves you feeling fuller?

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI

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