Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Bow toward the One again and again, and take shelter close by.
When you do, the fog of confusion lifts. In good company, the feeling of being split — pulled in two, "me against everything" — quietly melts away.
Bow to the One again and again, and in good company the fog clears and the feeling of being split apart melts away.
This short verse is a Shalok, a couplet. It joins two ideas. First, bharam is cut away in the saadhsang, the company of the holy. Bharam is doubt and confusion, the fog in the mind.
Second, duteeaa bhaao is erased. It means "love of the second." It is the feeling that there is a separate "me," cut off from the One and from everyone else. Guru Nanak and Guru Arjan use this phrase often. For them the root trouble is this feeling of being separate.
Bowing anik vaar, "again and again," is not about making yourself small. It is a softening, done over and over. Think of ice in your hand. Each moment of warmth melts a little more, until the "two" become one water again.
When do you feel most connected to others — and when do you feel most cut off?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI