Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
When I sing the wonders of the One, my mind goes green and alive, like a plant after rain. When I listen to its story, all the grime inside me washes away. And meeting the company of awakened hearts, I remember the kind One forever, without stopping.
This pauri names three simple practices and the effect of each — a little manual for the inner life. First: gun gaavat man hariaa hovai — "singing (gaavat) the [One's] qualities, the man (mind) becomes hariaa (green, alive, flourishing)." Recall sookaa hariaa (Shabad 24) and the greening world (Shabad 28): here it is the mind itself that goes green. A mind can get dry, brown, withered — tired, dull, lifeless. Singing the One's wonders waters it, and it greens, comes alive. Praise is the rain that revives a parched mind.
Second: kathaa sunat mal saglee khovai — "hearing (sunat) the kathaa (story, discourse), all the mal (dirt, grime) is khovai (lost, removed)." Recall mail — the grime of ego that accumulates (Shabad 3). Here listening to the story of the One washes it all away. Note the pairing: singing greens the mind, listening cleans it. Both speaking and hearing the One are needed — express and receive, give voice and take in.
Third: bhetat sang saadh santan kai sadaa japau daiaalaa — "meeting (bhetat) the sang (company) of the saadh santan (holy ones), I sadaa japau (forever remember) the daiaal (merciful One)." The first two practices (singing, listening) are sustained and made sadaa (continual) by the third: the Saadh Sangat. Alone, singing and listening flicker and fade; in the company of awakened hearts, they become forever. The company is what makes the practice last. This is the section's steady teaching (Shabads 1–6): the holy company is not optional decoration but the very thing that sustains remembrance. The verse gives the children a clear, doable picture: sing (and your tired mind revives), listen (and your inner grime washes off), and stay in good company (so it never stops).
The verse pairs two things: singing (expressing) and listening (taking in). Do you notice that you need both — to speak and to listen — to truly grow? Which comes easier to you?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI