Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Serve the true teacher in a way that grows love for the One in you and quietly lets everything else fall away, my mind.
Then your attention rests on the One, and there is no more dread of growing old — you come into the highest, steadiest place there is.
Serve the true teacher in the way that grows love for the One. Then even growing old loses its fear.
This is the rahaa-o, the "pause" line, the center of the shabad. It explains what "serving the Guru" means. It is not chores done for a person. It is whatever makes love for Govid, the One, grow in you. When that love grows, lesser things lose their hold.
Then comes a big promise: jaraa kaa bha-o na hova-ee, no fear of old age. The body will still grow old. But a life tied to the One is not scared of the clock. Think of a grandparent who is loved for who they are, not for how fast they run. Their worth does not shrink with age.
The jeevan padvee, the highest place, is not a rank above other people. It is the calm of someone who is finally home.
What would change if you truly believed your value would not shrink as you got older?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI