Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Become free while you are still alive — hold the One in mind, keep faith in your heart.
Be kind and merciful to every being, and know the One fills all; this is the way of the awakened soul, the supreme swan.
You can be set free right now, in this life, and the sign of it is being kind to everyone.
This shabad is an Ashtapadee, a hymn of eight verses. Near its end it gives a big teaching: jeevan mukat, free while still alive. Freedom is not saved for after death. It is here now, for a mind that remembers the One, jagdees, Lord of the world, and trusts with the heart.
Then comes how you can tell. Jee-a da-i-aa ma-i-aa sarbatar — kindness and mercy to all beings. Ramna — knowing the One is everywhere. These two go together. You are kind to everyone because you see the One in each of them.
Think of the most loved person at school. It is often not the best at tricks or tests. It is the one who is kind to everyone. The verse calls such a person a param hans, a supreme swan, a picture for someone wide awake inside. They are known by their kindness, not by trances or special powers.
If real awakening shows up as kindness to every being, how awake are you being today?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI