Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Think of a baby who drinks milk and is finally full and content. Think of a poor person whose heart lifts at the sight of treasure. Think of someone parched who drinks cool water and feels refreshed all over. That is exactly how my mind feels, soaked through with the joy of being near the One.
This pauri piles up everyday similes to capture one feeling: the deep, bodily satisfaction of being filled by what you most needed. Jiu baarik pee kheer aghaavai — "as a baarik (baby) drinking kheer (milk) becomes aghaavai (full, satisfied)." Jiu nirdhan dhan dekh sukh paavai — "as a nirdhan (poor person) finds joy at the sight of dhan (wealth)." Trikhaavant jal peevat thandhaa — "as a trikhaavant (thirsty one) drinking water becomes thandhaa (cooled)."
Notice how earthy and relatable these are. Guru Arjan does not reach for lofty mystical language; he points to the simplest human experiences of relief and satisfaction — a fed baby, a cooled throat, the lift of finding what you lacked. Each is a picture of a need met so completely that the wanting stops and contentment floods in. The baby drinking milk is especially tender: the most basic image of being held, fed, and satisfied without effort, in total trust.
The point of all three is the conclusion: tiu har sang ih man bheenaa — "just so, near the One, this mind is bheenaa (drenched, soaked through)." Recall bheejai from Shabad 3 — the keynote of the drenched, saturated mind. Being close to the One is not an abstract or distant feeling; it is as concrete and total as a baby's fullness after milk, as immediate as cool water on a parched throat. The verse is teaching that the deepest spiritual satisfaction is not strange or hard to recognize — you already know what it feels like, from the most ordinary moments of being filled and at ease. The closeness of the One feels like that, only more so: a mind soaked, satisfied, at rest. The longing of the Rahao is here answered with the plainest, most human picture of being satisfied.
The verse compares closeness to the One to a baby full of milk or cool water on a hot day. What is a moment of simple, complete satisfaction you've felt? Could nearness to something deeper feel like that?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI