Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Hold this mind steady; follow the teaching and give it your full attention.
How could we ever set the One aside — with each breath, each bite, sitting or standing, all day long?
My worry about living and dying has lifted; this little life rests safely in the One's care.
Keep me however You please; bless me, please, with Your Name.
A Shalok of the Fourth Mehl on steadiness and surrender. It opens with practical counsel — drirh kar rakhee-ai — "hold the mind steady," give it your full attention. The middle line, saas giraas ("breath and morsel"), echoes the recurring theme of constant remembrance woven into ordinary life: sitting, standing, eating, all of it. The emotional heart is release: maran jeevan kee chintaa ga-ee — "my worry about living and dying has lifted." Note how gently this handles mortality: not fear, but a laying-down of anxiety, the little life resting "safely in the One's care." The close is pure empty-handedness: keep me however You please, and bless me with the Name.
What worry, if you could finally set it down, would leave you feeling lighter and steadier? What would it feel like to hand it over?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI