Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
The pain of being apart from the One is a hungry ache inside me.
Another pain is death coming close.
Another pain is sickness that spreads through my body.
Simple doctor, do not give me medicine.
The deepest ache is being far from the One, and ordinary medicine cannot reach it.
The verse names three kinds of pain. First is dukh vaychhorhaa, the pain of being apart from the One you love. It feels like hunger. Second is the fear of dying. Third is a body that gets sick.
Then comes a surprise. The Guru tells the doctor, vaid na bholay daaroo laa-ay: simple doctor, don't give me medicine. The doctor means well. But this ache is deeper than a cough or a fever. Think of a child at summer camp who misses home. A bandage won't help. Only home will. This longing is called viraha, and it waits for a different cure.
What is a kind of hurt that a bandage or medicine could never fix?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI