Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
My mind is set free; I have joined the company of the good.
Facing the teacher, I say the Name, and my light has merged into the Light.
Remembering the Name, my wrongs are erased; the fire is put out, and I am satisfied.
Taking me by the arm, the One blessed me with kindness and made me its own.
The One hugged me close and merged me into itself; the pains of birth and death are burnt away.
Nanak prays: it blessed me with mercy, and in an instant united me with itself.
The Chhant resolves in merger — the deepest union-language in the raag: "my light has merged into the Light" (jot samaanee jot), the individual flame returning to the one fire from which it came (the drop into the ocean). And the tender human images accompany the cosmic one: "taken by the arm... hugged me close and merged me with Himself." The vast idea of light-into-Light is delivered as an embrace. And note the speed: "in an instant He unites me with Himself." The homeless, sin-burdened soul of the opening verses is, by mercy, taken by the arm, embraced, and merged — its separateness dissolved, its fire quenched, birth-and-death's pain "burnt away." The whole Chhant's arc, from countless faults to complete union, completes here.
What might it feel like for the sense of being separate and alone to dissolve completely — like a small flame merging back into a great light?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI