Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
I give myself to you, my Beloved, again and again, forever. My whole self is full of love for you; please keep safe the treasure you have given me.
Bring me to the true teacher, your trusted guide, who will lead me to you. By your kindness I have received the Name; Nanak has stepped into your shelter.
The shabad closes in surrender and a tender request. It opens with the language of total self-offering — a sacrifice, a sacrifice; I am forever a sacrifice to You — the repetition itself a kind of devotion, the soul unable to say it just once. My mind and body are filled with love for my Husband Lord. Having been found, having been revived, the soul gives itself wholly back to the One.
And then a touching, very human request: please preserve my assets — raakh, protect — the treasure of love and the Name that has just been received. The soul, having finally gained what it longed for, prays that it not be lost; it asks the One to guard the very gift the One gave. This is the prayer of someone who knows the value of what they hold and fears their own capacity to let it slip. The way it is kept safe is named: unite me with the True Guru, Your Advisor... through His guidance, He shall lead me to the Lord. Staying close to the Guru is how the treasure is protected — the same Guru who first led the soul to the meeting keeps leading it deeper. And the shabad rests, finally, in grace and refuge: I have obtained the Lord's Name, by Your Mercy... Nanak has entered Your Sanctuary. Everything received was by mercy, and the soul's final home is the Sanctuary of the One — safe, sheltered, holding the treasure of the Name under the protection of the very One who gave it.
When you finally receive something precious, do you think to ask that it be kept safe — and what 'guards' the best things in your life?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI