Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
When You draw me toward it, then and only then do I take up the work of serving and helping.
On my own, honestly, I can't make anything happen. Everything worth doing comes from being moved, not from forcing.
The good we do comes from being moved by the One, not from our own power alone.
This is the Rahao, the "pause" line, the center of the shabad. Tum laavhu ta-o laagah sayv — when You attach me, then I take up sayv, service. Ham tay kachhoo na hovai dayv — by myself, nothing at all happens, O Divine One.
This is deep humility, but it is not putting yourself down. It is being honestly empty-handed before grace. Our best acts are answers to being moved. The line does not say "I am worthless." It says "I do not make the good happen alone." Think of a sailboat. The sailor still sets the sail, but without the wind, the boat goes nowhere.
When have you done something kind almost without deciding to — like you were carried into it?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI