Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Listen, my dear friends, my beloved companions.
In the company of awakened hearts, you can be lifted up in a single instant.
Everything wrong in you gets cut away, and your mind becomes clean and clear. All your endless coming and going finally comes to a stop.
Guru Arjan speaks like a friend with good news: in the company of holy people, you can be lifted up in a moment.
Sun saajan mayray meet pi-aaray — listen, my dear friends, my beloved companions. The Guru is not lecturing from far above. He is leaning in, sharing something good with people he loves.
The good news is about the saaDhsang, the company of holy, loving people. And the surprise is how fast it works. SaaDhsang khin maahi uDhaaray — in the holy company, you are lifted up khin maahi, in an instant.
An earlier shabad in this raag told of years of hard effort, hard practices, and long journeys to holy places that brought no peace. Here the right company does it in a moment. Why? Because it works like warmth. Stand near a campfire on a cold night, and you do not have to work to get warm. The warmth reaches you right away. Being near good, awake hearts changes you the same way.
Three things happen. Kilvikh kaat — the kilvikh (wrongs, faults) are cut away. Ho-aa man nirmal — the mind becomes nirmal, clean and spotless, washed of its dirt. Mit ga-ay aavan jaanaa — the aavan jaanaa (coming and going) ends.
That last one goes deepest. "Coming and going" means the cycle of being born again and again. It also means living the same old patterns over and over, like a hamster wheel that never gets anywhere. Here the wheel finally stops. All the restless running of earlier shabads comes to rest.
And all three happen in an instant, in good company. So the message to the Guru's friends is happy and urgent. You do not have to earn your freedom slowly, step by step. Find the right company, and it can happen in a moment.
The verse promises change "in an instant" in the right company — faster than any amount of solo effort. Have you ever changed quickly just by being around the right people? How does good company work so fast?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI