The Rescue Ends With Rescued and Rescuer of One Substance
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
The One gives the gift of its living sight to those who listen to its praises and say its name with their tongue.
They become one with the One — life and limb — and feel the touch of the One, savior of those who went wrong.
Those who listen to the One's praise and say the Name come to feel the One close, as close as their own body.
Dayt darsan — the One gives darshan, a blessed sight of the One. This comes to those who listen with their ears, sarvan, and say the Name with their tongue, rasan.
Then comes the closest picture of all: ang sang bhagvaan. It means the One is with them limb by limb, part of their very body. This is where the whole hymn was heading. First, the One rescues us. In the end, we are joined with the One, so close there is no line between.
The first verse spoke of the One who rescues. Now that rescue comes back as a parsan, a touch felt inside. Think of a parent who pulled a child from deep water, and later just holds them in a long hug. It began as a rescue. It ends as being held close. Nanak says the One is patit uDhaar, the One who lifts up those who went wrong.
What would it feel like to be not just helped by the good, but joined to it, life and limb?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI