Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
How can real happiness be found, my friends? How can we find the One who is our help and support?
This shabad begins by asking a big question: where can real happiness be found?
The opening line is the rahaa-o, the "pause," the center of the shabad. Here the center is a question. Kin bidh kusal hot mayray bhaa-ee — how can happiness be found, my brothers and sisters? Kusal means happiness and well-being. Ki-o paa-ee-ai har raam sahaa-ee — how can we find the One, our help and support?
Guru Arjan builds the whole shabad like a search. Think of looking for lost keys. You check each wrong place first, until you find the right one. The middle verses rule out the wrong answers. The real answer comes only at the very end, in a second "pause" line.
Where do you go looking for happiness? Does it deliver?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI