Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Ask the Lord of the Universe for blessings like these:
to serve the saints, and to be in the Sangat of holy people. Chanting the Naam of the One, you reach the highest state of all.
Of everything you could ask the One for, ask to serve holy people, to join the Sangat and to keep the Naam.
This is the rahaa-o line. Rahaa-o means "pause." It is the center of the shabad, like the chorus of a song.
The verse tells us to ask the Lord of the world for this one thing. It is like a birthday wish. Many of us would wish for a new phone or a lot of money. The verse gently changes what is worth wanting. Ask to serve good people. Ask to sit with them in the sang saaDhoo, the Sangat — people gathered together to remember the One. Ask to keep the Naam.
The prize is param gatay, "the highest state," the best place a heart can reach. So this prayer does something clever. It changes the wanting itself, toward what lasts.
If you could ask for one thing and get it, what would you choose?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI