Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
That old feeling of being cut off from everyone — the sense that others are strangers or rivals — has quietly dissolved in me.
It started fading the moment I really listened, and let the praise of the One reach my ears and settle in.
Guru Arjan says that when he truly listened to praise of the One, the feeling that others are strangers melted away.
This is the rahao, the "pause" line. It is the center of the whole shabad. Ab mat binsee dusat bigaanee — now the bad sense of bigaanee is gone. Bigaanee means feeling that other people are strangers, outsiders, even rivals. It is not a wickedness in a person. It is a hurt feeling of being cut off, and it can heal.
What healed it? Jab tay suni-aa har jas kaanee — ever since I heard the praises of the One with my own ears. This is Suniai, deep listening, doing its work. Japji Sahib praises deep listening in the same way.
Think of a new kid at school who seemed strange, until you really listened to their story. Suddenly they are not a stranger at all. Listening lets the truth of Ik Onkar, the One in everyone, come in through the ears.
What happens inside you when you truly listen to someone, instead of waiting to reply?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI