Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Why would I ever forget the One I love, when that love is the very thing holding up my breath?
The people who have gone all the way, and the quiet wise ones who say little — they all turn toward that One, listening for it in the teaching. If they lean their whole lives on it, why would I let it slip from my mind?
This line says: how could I ever forget the One I love? That love holds up my every breath.
This is the rahaa-o, the "pause" line. It is the center of the shabad, the thought everything else turns around. After Brahma's story of measuring, the hymn now turns to loving.
Look at the reason it gives. It is not fear of being punished. The Beloved is paraan aDhaar, the support of my breath of life. You do not remember to breathe because it is your duty. You just live by it.
Then the verse points to good company. The pooray, the people who have gone all the way, worship the One. The mun jan, the quiet wise ones, serve the One through the Guru's teaching. They are not named to impress us. They show that the people who saw furthest all faced the same way. Remembering the One is less like homework and more like coming home.
What is something so close to you that you would never call remembering it "work"?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI