Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
The calf has already sipped at the milk; the bee has already touched the flower, the fish the water.
Everything I might offer has already been 'used' by life before me.
In a world full of life, nothing stays untouched.
Ravi Daas, a saint whose songs are in the Guru Granth Sahib, begins with a question about worship. Old custom said offerings to God must be pure and untouched. But dooDh ta bachhrai thanhu bitaari-o — the calf has already tasted the milk. fool bhavar jal meen bigaari-o — the bee has touched the flower, and the fish has swum in the water.
Life has touched everything first. Think of looking for a beach with no footprints on it. The tide, the crabs and the birds got there before you. The verse gently shows that the rule of perfect purity cannot be kept. So the demand for an untouched offering can't really be met.
Have you ever been stuck trying to make something 'perfect enough' to offer? What did that cost you?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI