ਜੋ ਜਨੁ ਕਰੈ ਕੀਰਤਨੁ ਗੋਪਾਲ ॥
jo jan karai keertan gopaal.
One who sings the Kirtan of the Lord's Praises,
ਤਿਸ ਕਉ ਪੋਹਿ ਨ ਸਕੈ ਜਮਕਾਲੁ ॥
tis ka-o pohi na sakai jamkaal.
the Messenger of Death cannot even touch that humble being.
ਜਗ ਮਹਿ ਆਇਆ ਸੋ ਪਰਵਾਣੁ ॥
jag meh aa-i-aa so parvaan.
His coming into this world is approved,
ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਅਪਨਾ ਖਸਮੁ ਪਛਾਣੁ ॥੨॥
gurmukh apnaa khasam pachhaan. ||2||
as the Gurmukh realizes his Lord and Master. ||2||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Whoever sings, with love, of the One,
even death cannot shake them.
Their coming into this world truly counts,
for, turned toward the Teacher, they have come to know their own Source.
A life spent turned toward the One is a life that truly counts.
Jamkaal — literally the messenger of death — is here disarmed rather than dramatized: for the one full of the Name, death holds no power to shake them. Jag meh aa-i-aa so parvaan is a beautiful line: their very arrival in the world is accepted, worthwhile — a life that counts. And what makes it count is khasam pachhaan, recognizing one's own Source, the ground one came from.
A Question to Sit With
What makes a day feel like it really counted to you?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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