Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
I am your child; I know nothing of your vastness; I am foolish and unknowing.
Shower me with kindness, One; bless me with an awakened mind; I am foolish — please make me wise.
This is one of the most disarming prayers in the raag, and it must be read exactly as its own voice-rules require. "I am foolish, make me clever" is not self-contempt — it is a child talking to a parent. A small child is not ashamed to say "I don't understand, please help me understand." That is not humiliation; it is the natural, trusting honesty of a little one who knows the parent is patient and kind. Guru Ram Das takes this posture deliberately: before the vastness of the One, the wisest thing is not to pretend you have it figured out, but to ask, openly, like a child, to be given understanding you don't yet have.
Why is it easier for a young child to admit they don't know something? What do we lose when we grow too proud to ask?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI