Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
I give myself completely to those who keep the nectar-sweet Name living in their minds. The nectar-Name has the greatest, sweetest taste of all — and through the Guru's teaching, you get to drink that nectar yourself.
This is the Rahao, the "pause" line. It is the center of the song. It tells us that the treasure inside tastes sweeter than anything else.
Amrit naam mahaa ras meethaa — the amrit (nectar, sweet life-giving drink) of the Name has the greatest, sweetest taste. The first verse said there is a treasure hidden in the body's cave. This pause line tells us what it tastes like when we reach it. Pure sweetness. The treasure is not cold or hard to grasp. It is a delight.
The word ras is worth a closer look. It means juice, or the real flavor of something. It is the taste you actually experience, not a description of it. Earlier shabads told of a scholar who read all about the nectar but never tasted it. This line says the Name is not a lesson to memorize. It is a taste to enjoy. Mahaa ras means the greatest taste of all. Once you have tasted real sweetness, the cheap candies of the world lose their pull.
How do we get to taste it? Gurmatee amrit pee-aavni-aa — through the Guru's teaching, the nectar is given to us to drink. Notice the words. We do not grab the nectar. It is poured for us, as a gift.
Think of honey. You can read a whole book about honey and still not know its taste. Someone has to put a spoonful on your tongue. The Guru is the one who does that. The Guru takes us past the rock of ego and into the cave, and lets us drink.
Ha-o vaaree jee-o vaaree amrit naam man vasaavani-aa — I give myself, heart and soul, to those who keep the nectar-Name in their minds. They have found the sweetest thing there is, and they live from it every day.
What's the difference between reading about something delicious and actually tasting it? What might it mean to truly "taste" the sweetness of the One rather than just know about it?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI