Sikhism·Raag Gauree·Shabad 73
Verse 5 of 6

Every Creature Is Quietly Asking to Be Okay

ਅਪੁਨੀ ਗਤਿ ਮਿਤਿ ਆਪੇ ਜਾਨੈ ॥
apunee gat mit aapay jaanai.
The Lord Himself knows His Own state and condition.
ਕਿਆ ਕੋ ਕਹੈ ਕਿਆ ਆਖਿ ਵਖਾਨੈ ॥
ki-aa ko kahai ki-aa aakh vakhaanai.
What can anyone say? How can anyone describe Him?
ਜਿਤੁ ਜਿਤੁ ਲਾਵਹਿ ਤਿਤੁ ਤਿਤੁ ਲਗਨਾ ॥
jit jit laaveh tit tit lagnaa.
Whatever He attaches us to - to that we are attached.
ਅਪਨਾ ਭਲਾ ਸਭ ਕਾਹੂ ਮੰਗਨਾ ॥੪॥
apnaa bhalaa sabh kaahoo mangnaa. ||4||
Everyone begs for their own good. ||4||

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa

In plain words

The One alone truly knows its own vastness — how great, how deep. What could I possibly add by trying to describe it?

And wherever life sets me, that's where I find myself; whatever it moves me toward, that's where I go. In the end, every single creature is quietly asking for the very same thing: for things to go well, to be okay.

Every creature alive is quietly asking for the same thing — to be okay.
The deeper layer

After all that noisy "I," the song gets quiet and humble.

Apunee gat mit aapay jaanai — only the One knows how great the One is. So what could any of us add by trying to describe it?

Jit jit laaveh tit tit lagnaa — wherever You attach us, there we are attached. This is Hukam, the flow of existence. We move where life moves us, like water finding its way down a hill.

The last line is tender. Apnaa bhalaa sabh kaahoo mangnaa — everyone asks for their own good. Every person and every creature is quietly hoping things turn out okay.

That softens the "me against my enemy" talk from the verse before. Think of the kid on the other team. They want to do well, feel safe, and be liked, just like you. The person you were ready to fight wants the same thing you want.

A Question to Sit With

If everyone you meet wants what you want — to be okay — how does that change how you see them?

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

About this shabad →
Use ← → to navigate