Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
There is only One. And the One is found by the True Guru's grace — a gift that is always here, waiting for an open heart.
They alone are saved who remember the One. Working only for Maya, the pull of passing things, is no use at all.
Remembering the One, they receive every fruit. They are blessed, blessed, and very fortunate.
In the Sangat, the true gathering, they are wide awake. Held to the Naam, their love is tuned to the One alone.
I have let go of pride, clinging and wrongdoing. Holding on to the holy ones, I am carried across at their feet.
Nanak prays: I have come to the shelter of my Master, and by great good fortune I see the One.
Remembering the One carries you safely through, and the Sangat keeps you awake.
This is a chhant, a flowing song form, a bit like a poem with a tune. It opens Guru Arjan's closing hymn in this raag, Kaanraa.
It begins say uDhray jin raam Dhi-aa-ay: "they alone are saved who remember the One." The word uDhray means lifted out, rescued. The next line says working only for maa-i-aa, the pull of passing things, is of no use.
Then: satsang jaagay, "awake in the Sangat." Satsang means the Sangat — people gathered together to remember the One. Think of friends who text you on a sleepy morning: "Come on, let's go!" The Sangat wakes you up like that.
The verse also says taj maan moh: set down pride and clinging. Maan is pride. Moh is holding on too tight. With those set down, you are carried across.
What helps you stay awake to what matters most?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI