Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Come close, you awakened ones — fold me into an embrace, lead me to the one I love. Tell me the story of my Beloved; I want to hear it from you. To anyone whose mouth speaks the words of the Guru, I would hand over my whole mind. That is how much I want to be near them.
This verse is the singer asking good people to come close and tell stories of the Beloved.
After tasting the ras, the sweetness, in the first verse, the singer wants more. And she knows where to find it: with the sant, the saints, people wide awake to the One. "Aavhu sant mai gal maylaa-ee-ai" — come, saints, bring me into the embrace. Gal means the neck, a hug. It's close and warm. She wants to be near people who carry the One, the way you'd stand close to a warm fire on a cold night.
What does she ask them for? Kathaa, the story of the Beloved. When you miss someone you love, you long for any news of them. The tradition calls that longing viraha. Picture a kid at camp, waiting for a letter from home. The saints are precious because their mouths speak gurbaanee, the Guru's Word. Across these songs, a true friend is someone whose words carry you toward the Beloved.
The strongest line is the giving. "Man dayvaa" — I give my mind to anyone who speaks the Guru's Word. This is ha-umai, the "me first" self, letting go. The ego holds tight to its own mind and opinions. The singer hands hers over to those full of the Word. It isn't a loss. It's a trade. She gives up the small, worried self and gets the overflowing sweetness back.
Whose voice, when they speak, makes you want to listen with your whole attention? What is it they carry?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI