"The One feeds even a worm inside a stone — so set your worry down."
The Arc
The second of Guru Ram Das's Maaroo Solhe is a hymn against fear and worry. It opens with the only Giver, beyond reach yet in every heart (P0), and the safety of being held (P1). Its heart is radical trust: the One makes a dry branch green again (P2), knows the ache of every being (P3), and feeds even a worm in a stone, unasked (P5). It counsels the lotus-freedom of the householder (P9) and closes in the glad humility of serving those who serve (P15).
Key Vocabulary
daataa — the one and only Giver.
achint daan — the gift given without being asked; grace.
belee — the friend and helper who truly stays.
kamal — the lotus, free in the very water it grows in.
daas dasaanee — glad servant of servants.
Themes and Cross-Connections
The dry-branch-made-green (P2) is one of Gurbani's tenderest images of hope and renewal. The worm-in-stone (P5) is its boldest picture of a care that reaches everything. The lotus (P9) answers the whole raag's restlessness: you can live fully in the world without being pulled under.
For Raag Maaroo
Where Maaroo often stares down death and danger, this hymn disarms fear at the root — not by fighting it, but by trusting a Giver so thorough that even the smallest, most hidden life is fed.
Translation Notes
P1: no one can kill the one the Lord saves is rendered as protection — nothing can break the deepest part of you — rather than violence.
P4: do not argue with fools is rendered as not spending your peace on quarrels, without contempt for anyone.
P6: do not place hope in friends, children, or kings is rendered as loving them while resting the deepest anchor in the One — not as rejecting family.
P8: consult the Vedas and the Puranas is kept and framed as respectful interfaith agreement that the sheltered are kept safe.
P10, P13: born only to die, reincarnation, and regret and repent are softened to spinning in place, tiring quarrels, and an ache left behind.
P15: slave of slaves is rendered as humble gladness in serving, not self-abasement.
"The One feeds even a worm inside a stone — so set your worry down."
The Arc
The second of Guru Ram Das's Maaroo Solhe is a hymn against fear and worry. It opens with the only Giver, beyond reach yet in every heart (P0), and the safety of being held (P1). Its heart is radical trust: the One makes a dry branch green again (P2), knows the ache of every being (P3), and feeds even a worm in a stone, unasked (P5). It counsels the lotus-freedom of the householder (P9) and closes in the glad humility of serving those who serve (P15).
Key Vocabulary
Themes and Cross-Connections
The dry-branch-made-green (P2) is one of Gurbani's tenderest images of hope and renewal. The worm-in-stone (P5) is its boldest picture of a care that reaches everything. The lotus (P9) answers the whole raag's restlessness: you can live fully in the world without being pulled under.
For Raag Maaroo
Where Maaroo often stares down death and danger, this hymn disarms fear at the root — not by fighting it, but by trusting a Giver so thorough that even the smallest, most hidden life is fed.
Translation Notes