Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Join the Sangat, the company of the holy, and you gain the goodness of giving to others and of every kind of good deed.
Nanak says: Sorrow and suffering are wiped away, and death will never again swallow you up.
In the Sangat — people gathered together to remember the One — you share the goodness of many good deeds, and sorrow melts away.
The verse says punn daan anayk kiri-aa saaDhoo sang samaa-ay. Punn means good deeds. Daan means giving to others. Kiri-aa means acts of devotion. All of that goodness, it says, is found by joining the company of the holy.
Think of a potluck dinner. Everyone brings one dish. When you sit at that table, you get to share all of them. The Sangat is like that. You share in the goodness of everyone there.
Then: taap santaap mitay, "fever and grief are wiped out." Taap means burning fever, and santaap means sorrow. The line ends baahurh kaal na khaa-ay. Kaal means death, or time running out, and it no longer swallows you. The fear of the end loses its grip. Guru Arjan signs the shabad as Nanak.
What kind of company leaves you feeling lighter than before?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI