Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Pain and sickness and sorrow slip in when I forget the Name. But lasting bliss arrives whenever I sing what is good about the One.
Forgetting the One leaves us open to sorrow. Singing the One's goodness brings joy that lasts.
The verse makes a neat pair. Dookh rog sog bisrai jab naam — pain, sickness and sorrow come when the Name is forgotten. Sadaa anand jaa har gun gaam — lasting joy comes when we sing the One's goodness. Anand means deep joy.
This does not claim that remembering the Name magically stops all illness. It means that forgetting the One leaves us without shelter when trouble comes. Remembering brings back an inner joy that stays steady. Think of a raincoat. It does not stop the rain, but you stay warm inside it.
The cure is turning your attention back. The verse says it as singing, not as avoiding.
What's a small practice that reliably shifts your mood back toward gladness?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI