Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Real devotion is the kind that truly pleases the One — not the kind done for show. And here's the secret: He Himself gives you that devotion, and once He gives, He never takes it back or regrets it. He is the one Giver behind every single living being. And with the **shabad**, He "kills" the old selfish you and then brings you back fully alive.
This verse takes the pressure off. Even the devotion that pleases the One is the One's own gift.
We might worry: "Is my devotion good enough? Am I doing it right?" Guru Amar Das answers: tayree bhagat sachee jay sachay bhaavai — devotion is true when it pleases the True One. Then at once: aapay day-ay — He Himself gives it. So the very devotion that pleases the One is the One's gift to you. That clears away the worry about performing. You aren't auditioning for love, like a nervous kid at a tryout. The love you offer was planted in you, as the verse before said, by the One you offer it to.
And He gives na pachhotaavai — without ever regretting it or taking it back. People's love can wobble. We give, then pull back; we help, then grumble about it. The One's giving never wobbles. What He plants in you, He keeps watering. This is the steadiness of the vayparvaahu, the Carefree One of the last verse. Because He needs nothing back, His giving never turns sour.
The last line holds a surprising turn: sabday maar jeevaavni-aa — with the Shabad, the Word, He "kills" and then brings to life. This is jeevat marnaa again, "dying while alive," the thread running through these shabads. What the Word ends is haumai, the separate, selfish "me." That ending isn't a loss. It is the doorway to real life, and you come back more alive, not less. Think of a caterpillar in its cocoon: the old shape has to change so the butterfly can come out. And the same hand that ends the old self gives the new life. The One is ayko daataa, the one Giver to all beings. There is no cruelty in it. It is like a loving parent helping you let go of who you were, so you can become who you truly are.
Have you ever had to let an old version of yourself "die" — an old fear, an old habit — in order to grow into someone better? What did that feel like?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI