ਤੂੰ ਤਰਵਰੁ ਹਉ ਪੰਖੀ ਆਹਿ ॥
tooN tarvar ha-o pankhee aahi.
You are the tree, and I am the bird.
ਮੰਦਭਾਗੀ ਤੇਰੋ ਦਰਸਨੁ ਨਾਹਿ ॥੩॥
mand-bhaagee tayro darsan naahi. ||3||
I am so unfortunate - I cannot see the Blessed Vision of Your Darshan! ||3||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
You are the great tree, and I am a bird who longs to rest in Your branches. Sometimes I feel I haven't yet truly seen You — but the longing itself keeps me flying toward You.
Even when you feel you haven't fully arrived, the longing itself is already carrying you toward what you seek.
Toon tarvar, ha-o pankhee — "You are the tree, I am the bird." The line mand-bhaagee tero darsan naahi is a cry of not-yet-seeing (darshan, the blessed sight). We soften the self-blaming "unfortunate" into honest longing rather than self-condemnation (wellbeing rule: self-abasement becomes reaching toward grace). The homing bird trusts the tree is there even before it lands.
A Question to Sit With
When you want something deeply but don't have it yet, how does the wanting keep you moving forward?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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