Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
In pain and in happiness, both the same, I keep my mind on you, Beloved. I learned this wise habit from my teacher — to remember you whether things are going well or badly. You are the one thing Nanak leans on, my master. And carried by your love, I make it all the way across to the far shore.
This last verse says: remember the One just as steadily when life is sweet as when life is hard.
It names the most important practice of all, and the key is that it stays even. Dukh sukh pi-aaray tudh dhi-aa-ee means "in pain and in comfort, Beloved, I remember You." Dukh is pain, hard times. Sukh is comfort, good times. Almost anyone turns to the One when things fall apart. The harder and deeper practice is to remember just the same in good times and bad. Not forgetting the Source when life is sweet. Not letting go when life is bitter. Like a friend who calls you on your birthday and also on the day you lost the game. This evenness is a kind of sahj: steady, natural calm that doesn't lurch up and down with whatever happens.
And the seeker didn't invent this wisdom. Ayh sumat guroo tay paa-ee means "I received this good understanding from the Guru." Sumat means wise understanding. Even knowing to remember in every kind of day is a gift from the Guru, not the seeker's own cleverness. The Guru doesn't just point to the One. The Guru shows the very way of holding onto the One steadily through a life's ups and downs.
The last line brings the seeker's whole trust to rest. Naanak kee dhar toonhai thaakur means "You are Nanak's support, my Master." Dhar means support, the ground you stand on. When everything else shifts, the One is the floor that doesn't move.
And the ending reaches its goal. Har rang paar pareevaan means "through Your love, I cross to the far shore." Rang is color, the dye of the One's love. Paar is the other side. Look back at how each verse ended. Remembering gave life, then coolness, then fullness, and now the crossing. The big ocean of life is finally crossed, not by hard effort, but carried by love. The seeker who began by simply living through remembering ends safely on the other shore. The whole shabad shows one thread: remembering the One, darling and endless, in pain and in joy, runs all the way from being alive to being carried home.
It's easy to think of what matters most when things go wrong. Why is it harder — and maybe more important — to keep remembering when everything is going great?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI