Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
My mind is Yours, my body is Yours, and everything I think of as "mine" is really Yours too. You're the One I belong to. My life, this whole body, all of it — it's all borrowed from You. Even the strength I act with is Your strength, not mine.
This whole shabad is one long exhale of surrender, and the first line empties the pockets completely: mind, body, wealth — "all Yours." We spend so much energy guarding what's "mine": my stuff, my talents, my reputation. Guru Arjan begins by gently setting all of it down. Nothing here was ever truly possessed; it was all "raas" — capital, stock, loaned to us to use for a while.
This is the deep antidote to haumai, the illusion of a separate, self-made self. The "I" that owns and achieves is the very thing that keeps us anxious and divided. The moment you really see "teraa jor" — even the power I act with is Yours — the whole exhausting project of being a self-made owner relaxes. You were never carrying the weight alone, because you were never the source of it.
For two boys in a culture that constantly says "you built that, it's yours, defend it," this is a strange and freeing idea: that the most honest thing you can say about your own gifts is "thank you, these were given." Not false modesty — just accuracy. Your body, your mind, your very ability to try, all arrived as gifts. Holding them as gifts rather than possessions is the beginning of peace.
Name one talent or thing you're proud of. Where did your ability to have it actually come from?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI