ਦੁਖ ਮਹਿ ਜਨਮੈ ਦੁਖ ਮਹਿ ਮਰਣਾ ॥
dukh meh janmai dukh meh marnaa.
In pain he is born, and in pain he dies.
ਦੂਖੁ ਨ ਮਿਟੈ ਬਿਨੁ ਗੁਰ ਕੀ ਸਰਣਾ ॥
dookh na mitai bin gur kee sarnaa.
His pain is not relieved, without seeking the Sanctuary of the Guru.
ਦੂਖੀ ਉਪਜੈ ਦੂਖੀ ਬਿਨਸੈ ਕਿਆ ਲੈ ਆਇਆ ਕਿਆ ਲੈ ਜਾਹਾ ਹੇ ॥੧੨॥
dookhee upjai dookhee binsai ki-aa lai aa-i-aa ki-aa lai jaahaa hay. ||12||
In pain he is created, and in pain he perishes. What has he brought with himself? And what will he take away? ||12||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Without shelter, even life's beginnings and endings can feel heavy.
That ache eases when we step into the Guru's gentle shelter.
We come into the world holding nothing, and we leave holding nothing — so the one treasure worth gathering is the Naam, which the heart can carry with it.
We arrive and leave with empty hands, so gather the one treasure that travels: the Naam.
Dukh meh janmai dukh meh marnaa — born in pain, dying in pain. The pain eases in the Guru's sarnaa (shelter). Ki-aa lai aa-i-aa ki-aa lai jaahaa — what did we bring, what will we take? The Naam is the one thing the heart carries.
A Question to Sit With
If you can only carry one kind of treasure through your whole life, what should it be?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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