Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
I may feel small, but I get to sing about great and good things, meeting a true Friend.
It's like a plain, bitter tree standing next to sweet-smelling sandalwood — I slowly take on its lovely fragrance.
This one says: stay near goodness, and you slowly become good too.
The picture is two trees. Ji-o chandan sang basai nimm birkhaa — "like the nimm tree growing near the sandalwood." The nimm, or neem, is a tree with a bitter taste. Sandalwood smells sweet. When the neem grows beside the sandalwood long enough, it starts to carry that sweet smell.
So a plain or bitter heart, kept near real goodness, slowly changes. Think of sitting next to someone who is always cheerful and kind. Without trying, you start smiling more. This is a much-loved teaching: good company changes you, and you don't have to force it.
Whose 'good fragrance' rubs off on you when you spend time near them?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI