ਗੁਰ ਹਰਿ ਬਿਨੁ ਕੋ ਨ ਬ੍ਰਿਥਾ ਦੁਖੁ ਕਾਟੈ ॥
gur har bin ko na baritha dukh kaatai.
No one, except the Guru-Lord, can dispel our pain and sorrow.
ਪ੍ਰਭੁ ਤਜਿ ਅਵਰ ਸੇਵਕੁ ਜੇ ਹੋਈ ਹੈ ਤਿਤੁ ਮਾਨੁ ਮਹਤੁ ਜਸੁ ਘਾਟੈ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
parabh taj avar sayvak jay ho-ee hai tit maan mahat jas ghaatai. ||1|| rahaa-o.
Forsaking God, and serving another, one's honor, dignity and reputation are decreased. ||1||Pause||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
No one but the One can lift real pain and sorrow away.
Abandon the One to serve some substitute, and your honor and standing only shrink.
Anchoring your whole self to what can't hold you slowly shrinks you — dignity leaks out of a misplaced life.
The Pause line locates true relief precisely — "no one, except the Guru-Lord, can dispel our pain" — and warns about the cost of misplaced service. To "forsake God and serve another" isn't only a spiritual error; it "decreases one's honor." When we build our whole selves on things that can't hold, we shrink — dignity leaks out of a life anchored to the wrong thing. Real standing comes from being rooted in what is real.
A Question to Sit With
What are you 'serving' that quietly costs you a little self-respect each time?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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