Sikhism·Raag Gauree·Shabad 5
Verse 1 of 5

The One Who Lets Us Wander Draws Us Home

ਗਉੜੀ ਮਹਲਾ ੧ ਦਖਣੀ ॥
ga-orhee mehlaa 1 dakh-nee.
Gauree, First Mehl, Dakhanee:
ਸੁਣਿ ਸੁਣਿ ਬੂਝੈ ਮਾਨੈ ਨਾਉ ॥ ਤਾ ਕੈ ਸਦ ਬਲਿਹਾਰੈ ਜਾਉ ॥
sun sun boojhai maanai naa-o. taa kai sad balihaarai jaa-o.
I am forever a sacrifice to the one who listens and hears, who understands and believes in the Name.
ਆਪਿ ਭੁਲਾਏ ਠਉਰ ਨ ਠਾਉ ॥
aap bhulaa-ay tha-ur na thaa-o.
When the Lord Himself leads us astray, there is no other place of rest for us to find.
ਤੂੰ ਸਮਝਾਵਹਿ ਮੇਲਿ ਮਿਲਾਉ ॥੧॥
tooN samjhaavahi mayl milaa-o. ||1||
You impart understanding, and You unite us in Your Union. ||1||

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa

In plain words

I would give anything for the person who truly listens, who understands, who lets the Name live in them. When I am turned away from you, there is nowhere else to find rest. You are the one who gives understanding, and you are the one who draws us back into you.

Everything turns on truly listening -- and the One who lets us wander is the One who draws us home.
The deeper layer

A Dakhanee (southern-dialect) composition. The opening honors suniai (deep listening) and mannai (acceptance and inner alignment, not mere belief). The unsettling middle line -- "when You Yourself lead us astray" -- holds Hukam honestly: even disorientation is within the One's flow, and the only resting place is the One who both confuses and reunites. Grace gives the very understanding it then asks for.

A Question to Sit With

Who in your life really listens? What does it feel like to be heard like that?

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

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