Sikhism·Raag Kaanraa·Shabad 32
Verse 2 of 3

Which Of Your Countless Virtues

ਕਵਨ ਕਵਨ ਕਵਨ ਗੁਨ ਕਹੀਐ ਅੰਤੁ ਨਹੀ ਕਛੁ ਪਾਰੈ ॥
kavan kavan kavan gun kahee-ai ant nahee kachh paarai.
Which, which, which of Your Glorious Virtues should I chant? There is no end or limitation to them.
ਲਾਖ ਲਾਖ ਲਾਖ ਕਈ ਕੋਰੈ ਕੋ ਹੈ ਐਸੋ ਬੀਚਾਰੈ ॥੧॥
laakh laakh laakh ka-ee korai ko hai aiso beechaarai. ||1||
There are thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, many millions of them, but those who contemplate them are very rare. ||1||

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa

In plain words

Which, which, which of Your good qualities should I sing? There is no end, no limit to them.

There are thousands, hundreds of thousands, many millions of them. How rare is the one who stops to think about them.

The good in the One is endless; the rare gift is pausing to notice it.
The deeper layer

The good in the One has no end, and the rare gift is stopping to notice it.

Kavan kavan kavan gun kahee-ai: "which, which, which of Your virtues should I sing?" Gun means a good quality. The question repeats three times. It is like standing in a huge library, not knowing which book to open first.

Then: laakh laakh laakh ka-ee korai, "thousands upon thousands, many millions." A laakh is a hundred thousand. A kor is ten million. Too many to count.

And then the quiet twist: ko hai aiso beechaarai, "how rare is the one who reflects on them." Beechaar means thinking something through. The wonder is everywhere, like stars on a clear night. The rare thing is looking up.

A Question to Sit With

What is something wonderful you pass by every day without stopping to notice it?

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

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