ਰਾਮ ਨਾਮ ਰਸੁ ਚਾਖਿਆ ਹਰਿ ਨਾਮਾ ਹਰ ਤਾਰਿ ॥
raam naam ras chaakhi-aa har naamaa har taar.
I have tasted the sublime essence of the Lord's Name; the Lord's Name carries everyone across.
ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਕੰਚਨੁ ਭਇਆ ਭ੍ਰਮੁ ਗਇਆ ਸਮੁਦ੍ਰੈ ਪਾਰਿ ॥੪॥੩॥
kaho kabeer kanchan bha-i-aa bharam ga-i-aa samudrai paar. ||4||3||
Says Kabir, I have become like gold; doubt is dispelled, and I have crossed over the world-ocean. ||4||3||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
I have tasted the sweetness of the Naam of the One, and the Naam carries everyone across.
Kabir says: I have become like gold. My doubt is gone, and I have crossed the ocean of the world.
The Naam can change you all the way through, like metal turned to gold.
The close: 'raam naam ras chaakhi-aa' — having tasted the essence of the Name, 'kanchan bha-i-aa' — one becomes gold, and 'bharam ga-i-aa' — doubt dissolves as one crosses the 'samudrai' (ocean). The alchemy image (base metal to gold) recurs across the raags as the transformation grace works in a person.
A Question to Sit With
What is something that changed you so deeply you were not quite the same afterward?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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