Sikhism·Raag Jaitsree·Shabad 31
Verse 15 of 60

Holding the One Burns Even the Fear of Death

ਪਉੜੀ ॥
pa-orhee.
Pauree:
ਕੋਟਿ ਅਘਾ ਸਭਿ ਨਾਸ ਹੋਹਿ ਸਿਮਰਤ ਹਰਿ ਨਾਉ ॥
kot aghaa sabh naas hohi simrat har naa-o.
Millions of sins are totally erased, by meditating on the Lord's Name.
ਮਨ ਚਿੰਦੇ ਫਲ ਪਾਈਅਹਿ ਹਰਿ ਕੇ ਗੁਣ ਗਾਉ ॥
man chinday fal paa-ee-ah har kay gun gaa-o.
The fruits of one's heart's desires are obtained, by singing the Glorious Praises of the Lord.
ਜਨਮ ਮਰਣ ਭੈ ਕਟੀਅਹਿ ਨਿਹਚਲ ਸਚੁ ਥਾਉ ॥
janam maran bhai katee-ah nihchal sach thaa-o.
The fear of birth and death is eradicated, and one's eternal, unchanging true home is obtained.
ਪੂਰਬਿ ਹੋਵੈ ਲਿਖਿਆ ਹਰਿ ਚਰਣ ਸਮਾਉ ॥
poorab hovai likhi-aa har charan samaa-o.
If it is so pre-ordained, one is absorbed in the Lord's lotus feet.
ਕਰਿ ਕਿਰਪਾ ਪ੍ਰਭ ਰਾਖਿ ਲੇਹੁ ਨਾਨਕ ਬਲਿ ਜਾਉ ॥੫॥
kar kirpaa parabh raakh layho naanak bal jaa-o. ||5||
Bless me with Your mercy, God - please preserve and save me! Nanak is a sacrifice to You. ||5||

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa

In plain words

Millions of wrongs are wiped out by holding the One's Name in mind.

The heart's desires are fulfilled by singing the One's praise.

The fear of birth and death is uprooted, and the lasting true home is found.

If it is so written, one is absorbed at the One's feet.

Bless me with your mercy, One — please keep me and save me; Nanak is a sacrifice to you.

Holding the One in mind burns away not just wrongs but the deepest fear — of death itself — and gives in its place a home that never changes. And even this is asked for as grace, not forced.
The deeper layer

The Pauree gathers the fire-image into a full list of what the Name burns away: millions of wrongs, unfulfilled desires, and — the deepest — "the fear of birth and death." And in their place, "the eternal, unchanging true home." This is the movement the whole Vaar keeps making: subtraction of what burdens (wrongs, fear), addition of what steadies (the home that doesn't change). And it ends, as the Paurees do, in humble petition — "bless me, keep me, save me" — the seeker not claiming the results but asking for the grace that produces them. Even the fire, in the end, is asked for, not lit by willpower.

A Question to Sit With

What would it feel like to have the fear of losing everything replaced by a sense of a home that can never be taken away?

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI

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