Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Foolish heart, you are clinging to small, shallow pleasures.
The Nectar lives right here with you, and still you stay tangled up in bitter things.
The sweetest thing of all is already with you.
This is the rahaa-o, the "pause" line. It is the center of the shabad. Ray moorhay can sound like "you fool!" Here it is the heart talking to itself gently: come on, dear one. Too hochhai ras laptaa-i-o — you are stuck on small, shallow treats.
Amrit sang basat hai tayrai — the nectar lives right with you. Amrit means nectar, the sweet, life-giving taste of the One. Yet you stay tangled in bitter things, bikhi-aa, instead.
Think of searching the whole house for your glasses while they sit on your head. The One was never far away. We only forget to notice what is already close.
What good thing is already close to you that is easy to overlook?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI