Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Staying close to the Sangat, the company of the saints, you are lifted high, the way a palaas tree is taken in by a peepal tree.
Whoever is filled with the fragrance of the Naam of the One is the finest among all people.
Staying close to holy people lifts you up and changes you, the way a small tree takes on the nature of a great one.
Sangat sant sang lag oochay: staying close to the Sangat — people gathered together to remember the One — and to the saints raises you high.
The verse gives a tree picture, peep palaas. The palaas is an ordinary tree. The peep, the peepal, is a great, noble tree. A palaas growing beside a peepal was said to take on its nature.
Think of a new kid who joins a kind, hardworking team. Over a season, they grow kind and hardworking too.
Raam naamai baas baseejai: that person is perfumed with the fragrance of the Naam. The Sangat changes what you are made of, not only how you act.
Who do you spend time with that you would like to grow more like?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI