Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
With your tongue, say the One's name.
Set down the other hollow busyness, and let your whole life hum with the One.
This line asks us to tidy up our lives around what really matters.
It is the rahaa-o, the "pause" line, the center of the shabad (hymn). Rasnaa raam raam ravant — with your tongue, say the Name, Raam, Raam. Then: chhod aan bi-uhaar mithi-aa — let go of other false dealings.
"False dealings" does not mean honest work. Honest work is good. It means empty busyness — the things we pour ourselves into that give nothing back.
Think of scrolling a phone for an hour and feeling emptier after. The verse is not asking you to stop doing things. It asks you to drop the empty things. Then remembering the One can hum underneath the whole day, like quiet music while you do your homework. Make life simpler, around the one thing that fills you.
What 'busy' thing in your life gives nothing back? What might you set down to make room for what fills you?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI