Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
The servant of the One sings the Name, Har, Har, and a foolish person shoots arrows at them.
Nanak says: the servant of the One is kept safe by love of the One. The arrow turns around and strikes the one who shot it.
A heart held in love of the One is safe, and unkindness aimed at it comes back to the one who sent it.
The verse paints a picture. A person sings the Name, har har. Someone foolish shoots arrows at them. But the singer is ubray, "saved," by liv. Liv means your attention lovingly fixed on the One, like a compass needle that always points north.
Then the arrow turns around and goes back to the one who shot it. Think of throwing a ball hard at a wall. It bounces right back at you. Ill will works like that. It finds nothing to hit in a loving heart, so it returns to where it came from. The verse is teaching us to stay harmless, because harm comes home to the one who sends it.
If someone is being unkind to you or hurting you, that is never something you have to accept. Telling a grown-up you trust is always the right thing to do.
What keeps you steady and kind when someone is unkind to you?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI