Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Night by night, time runs out; day by day, time runs out.
The body wears away and turns to dry straw.
Everyone is busy and tangled in the world's affairs.
Forgetting, a person drops the way of service.
Blind to what matters, they struggle and struggle and get caught up in quarrels.
People weep after someone has died — can they bring that person back?
Without understanding, nothing makes sense.
Those who weep for the dead will one day die too.
Nanak says: this is how the Master wills it.
Those who do not keep the One in mind — they are the ones who are dead.
Time runs out night and day and the body wears away; remembering the One is what keeps a person alive.
A salok of Guru Nanak. Raatee kaal ghatai: night and day, time ticks away, and kaa-i-aa, the body, becomes paraal, straw. Weeping cannot bring back someone who has died; the sadness is real, and so is the limit. Sayee mu-ay jin chit na aavai: those who do not remember the One are the ones who are dead. Its gentle twin: remembering is being alive.
What is something you love that time cannot wear away?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI