Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
I have found the true teacher, my Friend, the greatest of all. Love for the One has blossomed in me.
Illusion, the snake, had seized me; through the teacher's Word, its venom is neutralized.
Guru Ram Das names the teacher "my Friend" (mitra) — an intimate, level word, not a distant authority. And the shabad's central image is medical: Maya as a snake whose venom the Guru's Word neutralizes. This is precise. Attachment and illusion are not just distractions; they are poison in the bloodstream, distorting perception, making you sick without your knowing why. The Guru's Word is the antivenom. Notice it doesn't kill the snake by the seeker's willpower; the Word simply cancels the poison's effect, and "love for the One blossoms" where the venom used to burn. Healing, not battle.
Can something harmful affect you without your even realizing it, like a slow poison? What might work as the 'antidote'?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI