Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
I know nothing about wisdom, meditation or good deeds, and my way of living isn't clean.
So hold me to the hem of the company of the good, and help me cross the terrible river.
This part says you don't need to earn anything first. You can come empty-handed and still be carried.
It is a very honest verse. Gi-aan Dhi-aan kichh karam na jaanaa — I know nothing of wisdom, meditation or good deeds. Naahin nirmal karnee — and my way of living is not clean. Here Guru Arjan shows grace coming before any effort. He claims nothing: no wisdom, no deep meditation, no good record.
Instead of giving up, he does the one thing that works. SaaDhsangat kai anchal laavhu — tie me to the hem of the company of the good. Bikham nadee jaa-ay tarnee — and help me cross the terrible river.
Think of a school trip to a river crossing. You don't need to be the best swimmer. You hold the rope with your class, and together you get across. The point is that nobody needs a résumé first. You admit you have nothing to show, and you are carried anyway, by good company and by grace. Being honest about that isn't what stands in the way. It is the doorway.
Is it freeing to know you don't have to be wise or accomplished first — you can come exactly as you are and be helped?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI