Sikhism·Raag Jaitsree·Shabad 32
Verse 7 of 7

Without the One's Shelter, Whose Else Could I Seek?

ਕਹਿ ਰਵਿਦਾਸ ਕਹਾ ਕੈਸੇ ਕੀਜੈ ॥
kahi ravidaas kahaa kaisay keejai.
Says Ravi Daas, what am I to do now?
ਬਿਨੁ ਰਘੁਨਾਥ ਸਰਨਿ ਕਾ ਕੀ ਲੀਜੈ ॥੬॥੧॥
bin raghunaath saran kaa kee leejai. ||6||1||
Without the Sanctuary of the Lord's Protection, who else's should I seek? ||6||1||

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa

In plain words

Says Ravi Daas: what am I to do now?

Without the shelter of the One's protection, whose shelter could I possibly seek?

After all the honesty — 'I know nothing, I'm not even tired of my faults' — comes the only move left: 'without the One's shelter, whose else could I seek?' Precisely because he has nothing to offer, the One's door is his only refuge. And the one with nowhere else to turn turns, at last, wholly to the One.
The deeper layer

This part says: when you have nowhere else to go, you turn fully to the One.

After all that honesty comes the turn. I know nothing. My mind is sold. I'm not even tired of my faults. Now: kahi ravidaas kahaa kaisay keejai — says Ravi Daas, what am I to do now? Bin raghunaath saran kaa kee leejai — without the One's shelter, whose shelter could I seek?

This is the logic of the whole song. He has no achievements to offer. No faith to boast of. Not even tiredness of his faults. And precisely because he has nothing, the One's shelter is his only refuge. There is nowhere else to go.

In Sikh teaching, that is not a dead end. It is the doorway. Think of a child caught in a sudden storm, running to the one house with the light on. The person who truly has nowhere else to turn finally turns completely to the One. Ravi Daas closes Raag Jaitsree right here. The empty-handed soul, with no other door, arrives at the one door that is always open.

A Question to Sit With

When you feel you have nothing to offer and nowhere else to turn, could that emptiness actually be the doorway to the one shelter that's always open?

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

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