ਰੰਕੁ ਰਾਉ ਜਾ ਕੈ ਏਕ ਸਮਾਨਿ ॥
rank raa-o jaa kai ayk samaan.
The beggar and the king are all the same to Him.
ਕੀਟ ਹਸਤਿ ਸਗਲ ਪੂਰਾਨ ॥
keet hasat sagal pooraan.
He sustains and fulfills both the ant and the elephant.
ਬੀਓ ਪੂਛਿ ਨ ਮਸਲਤਿ ਧਰੈ ॥
bee-o poochh na maslat Dharai.
He does not consult or seek anyone's advice.
ਜੋ ਕਿਛੁ ਕਰੈ ਸੁ ਆਪਹਿ ਕਰੈ ॥੨॥
jo kichh karai so aapeh karai. ||2||
Whatever He does, He does Himself. ||2||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
To the One, a beggar and a king are exactly the same.
The One sustains the tiny ant and the huge elephant alike, and needs no one's advice — whatever the One does, it does on its own.
Before the One, the smallest and the greatest are held exactly the same.
Rank raa-o ... ayk samaan — beggar and king, equal before the One — is Gurbani's steady leveling. The pairing of keet (ant) and hasat (elephant), both fully sustained, stretches that equality across all of creation. The One acts aapeh — of itself — needing no counsel, a picture of complete, impartial sufficiency.
A Question to Sit With
What would it look like to treat the 'smallest' people with the same care as the 'greatest'?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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