Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
I chant the Naam on such a string of prayer beads
that I rise above pleasure and pain, and find a wondrous love for the One, like no other.
Remembering the One, bead by bead, lifts you above the seesaw of pleasure and pain.
This is the rahaa-o, the "pause" line, the center of the shabad, the line everything else turns around.
Guru Nanak speaks of a japmaalee, a mala, which is a string of prayer beads. People move one bead at a time while remembering the Naam. This is called naam simran, remembering the One again and again.
Dukh sukh parhar means rising above pleasure and pain. Life is like a seesaw: up on good days, down on bad ones. This remembering lifts you off the seesaw. Bhagat niraalee means a wondrous love, unlike any other.
The beads point your attention toward wonder. And wonder is where you start to see that everything is one.
What helps you stay steady when your feelings swing up and down?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI