Come with empty hands; you are Yours even when you stray.
The Arc
A shabad of humility. The speaker claims no knowledge, no discipline, no good deeds — empty hands. But the rahau holds the whole comfort: my Beloved, there is no other, and even when I wander and err, I am still Yours. No wealth or powers, only the Name as the mind's support. Hearing the Name revives; it clears away wrongs and gives life to countless beings. All creation rests its hope in the One — kind, and without end.
Key Vocabulary
nimrataa — humility; the empty-handed posture.
bhoolah chookah — straying and erring; belonging survives both.
tayk — the support the mind rests on.
guntaas — treasure-house of virtues.
Themes and Cross-Connections
The line bhoolah chookah prabh tayray is among the tenderest reassurances in Gurbani — mistakes do not cancel belonging. This directly serves the project's wellbeing aim: the list of things not done is read as honest emptiness (empty-handedness), never self-condemnation. Grace here is unconditional, not a reward.
For Raag Raamkalee
Against Raamkalee's backdrop of yogic effort and attainment, this shabad quietly insists the opposite: it is empty-handed belonging, not accomplishment, that reaches the One.
Come with empty hands; you are Yours even when you stray.
The Arc
A shabad of humility. The speaker claims no knowledge, no discipline, no good deeds — empty hands. But the rahau holds the whole comfort: my Beloved, there is no other, and even when I wander and err, I am still Yours. No wealth or powers, only the Name as the mind's support. Hearing the Name revives; it clears away wrongs and gives life to countless beings. All creation rests its hope in the One — kind, and without end.
Key Vocabulary
Themes and Cross-Connections
The line bhoolah chookah prabh tayray is among the tenderest reassurances in Gurbani — mistakes do not cancel belonging. This directly serves the project's wellbeing aim: the list of things not done is read as honest emptiness (empty-handedness), never self-condemnation. Grace here is unconditional, not a reward.
For Raag Raamkalee
Against Raamkalee's backdrop of yogic effort and attainment, this shabad quietly insists the opposite: it is empty-handed belonging, not accomplishment, that reaches the One.
Last updated: 2026-07-09