ਤਉ ਨ ਪੁਜਹਿ ਹਰਿ ਕੀਰਤਿ ਨਾਮਾ ॥
ta-o na pujeh har keerat naamaa.
These are not equal to singing the Praises of the Lord's Name.
ਅਪੁਨੇ ਰਾਮਹਿ ਭਜੁ ਰੇ ਮਨ ਆਲਸੀਆ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
apunay raameh bhaj ray man aalsee-aa. ||1|| rahaa-o.
Meditate on your Lord, you lazy man! ||1||Pause||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
None of those grand things add up to simply singing the One's praises with love.
So wake up, sleepy heart — turn toward the One who is already yours.
The song of love outweighs every grand ceremony — so don't sleep through it.
This is the rahau, the refrain the whole song circles back to. Aalsee literally means lazy or sleepy; the tone is a gentle shake, not an insult — the way you would nudge a friend who is missing something beautiful right in front of them. Keertan, singing the One's praises with love, is placed above every costly ritual not because ritual is bad but because love is what those rituals were always reaching for.
A Question to Sit With
When have you been half-asleep to something wonderful that was right there?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
Use ← → to navigate