Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Dear friends, sing the praises of my One. Turn toward the teaching and chant the Name, you fortunate souls.
The Name of the One is my very soul and my breath. And with it, I will never again have to make the hard crossing of the world's rough sea.
This stanza is an invitation and a testimony. The invitation, to the Saints: sing the Glorious Praises of my Lord God... as Gurmukh, chant the Naam, O very fortunate ones. As in these shabads' communal spirit, the soul does not keep its joy private but calls others — the very fortunate ones — to sing along. To be drawn toward the Name is itself named as great fortune.
And the testimony is intimate: the Name of the Lord, Har, Har, is my soul and my breath of life. Not merely something the soul values, but its very soul and breath — that without which it would not be alive at all. The Name has become as essential as breathing. And from that, the great fruit: I shall never again have to cross over the terrifying world-ocean. The bhavsagar, the frightening sea of worldly existence and rebirth, need not be crossed again by the soul for whom the Name has become its breath. To hold the Name as your very life is to be already on the far shore. The stanza's movement is complete: sing, fortunate ones; the Name is my breath; and so the terrifying crossing is finished.
What in your life has become as essential as breathing — and is it something that truly gives life?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI