Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Mother, father, husband or wife, children, relatives, sweethearts, friends and siblings come together, drawn by bonds from long before.
But not one of them goes with you in the end.
This part says that even the people dearest to us can't walk the very last step with us.
It needs to be held gently. Guru Arjan is not saying family and friends don't matter. The Sikh way of family life, Grihast (being a householder), treasures these bonds deeply. Maat pitaa banitaa sut — mother, father, spouse, children. They are precious.
He is saying something more exact. Anteh ko na sahaa-ee — at the end, none of them can be your support. There is a final doorway that no one else can walk through with you. Think of the first day at a new school. Your parent can walk you to the gate, but you go through it yourself.
This is no reason to love them less. It is a reason not to put your deepest safety on them alone. That would be too heavy for any human bond to carry. So love your people fully. And know that the one Friend who goes all the way is the One.
Can you love people dearly and still know that only the One is with you at the very end? How do those two truths fit together?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI