Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Just as a mother, having given birth, feeds her child and keeps him in her sight.
Inside and out, she slips food into his mouth. At every moment, she caresses him.
In just the same way, the true teacher protects the students who love the One.
This one says the Guru watches over us the way a mother watches her baby.
Picture a mother with a little child. ji-o jannee sut jan paaltee raakhai nadar majhaar — she feeds him and keeps him where she can see him. Inside the house or out in the yard, she slips food into his mouth. Every moment, she strokes his hair. She never stops caring, not even for a minute.
Guru Ram Das says the True Guru cares for the Sikhs in just that way. Satgur means the True Guru, the true teacher. The care goes to the gursikh, the Guru's students, who love the One. Gurbani uses mother-and-child pictures like this in other places too.
This love is tender. It is not a deal, where you pay and get something back. It is simply how a mother loves.
Who watches over you so steadily you might forget they are doing it?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI