Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
My mind and my body are colored all the way through with love for the One. For that love, I'd gladly give away everything I have. So let's sing about the One every hour, all day and all night — and let's not forget the One for even a single breath.
This is a love song. It opens with the whole self in love with the One.
Man tan rataa raam pi-aaray means "my mind and body are colored with love for the Beloved." Not just a thought in the head. Not just a feeling in the heart. The whole person is dyed through, like a white shirt dropped in a bucket of deep color. This is the mood of Raag Maajh, the musical setting of this shabad: a soul that already loves and aches to give itself completely.
The next line shows how strong the love is. Sarbas deejai apnaa vaaray means "I would give away everything I have." Real love stops counting what it can keep. Think of a child with a best friend or a new puppy. They don't measure out their love carefully. They pour it.
The dye picture, rang (color), shows up all through Gurbani. The world's colors are kachaa, weak dye that washes out. The color of real love for the One is fast. It soaks in and stays. When both mind and body are dyed, no corner of you is left out.
Then comes the everyday heart of it. Bisar na ko-ee saasaa means "don't forget, not for even one breath." That is the highest bar there is. Not most of the day. Every single breath.
That sounds impossible, and in a way it is meant to. It is not a rule you are set up to fail. It points the way love goes. When you really love someone, you don't set a reminder to think of them. They are just there, under everything, all day. This opening sets the tone for the whole shabad: this is not duty. This is being in love.
Who or what do you love so much you barely have to try to remember it? What would it be like to feel that way about the One in everything?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI