ਉਧਰੁ ਦੇਹ ਦੁਲਭ ਸਾਧੂ ਸੰਗਿ ਹਰਿ ਹਰਿ ਨਾਮੁ ਜਪੇਰੈ ॥
uDhar dayh dulabh saaDhoo sang har har naam japayrai.
Redeem your body in the invaluable Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, chanting the Name of the Lord, Har, Har.
ਘਰੀ ਨ ਮੁਹਤੁ ਨ ਚਸਾ ਬਿਲੰਬਹੁ ਕਾਲੁ ਨਿਤਹਿ ਨਿਤ ਹੇਰੈ ॥੧॥
gharee na muhat na chasaa bilambahu kaal niteh nit hayrai. ||1||
Do not delay for an instant, even for a moment. Death is keeping you constantly in his vision. ||1||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Redeem your life in the priceless company of the good, saying the Name.
Don't put it off even a moment — the end is always keeping you in its sight.
Awareness that life is finite isn't meant to frighten but to sharpen the value of now — redeem the time, don't postpone the turn.
The verse pairs the means (good company, the Name) with urgency: "do not delay for an instant... Death is keeping you constantly in his vision." The urgency is not fear-mongering but a wake-up: life is finite and the time to turn is now. "Redeem your life" — make it count — in good company, without postponing. The awareness of mortality is used to sharpen the value of the present moment.
A Question to Sit With
What are you postponing that the shortness of life says to do now?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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