You belong to the One, and so does everyone — so why grasp at 'mine'?
The Arc
Honor the One who owns all, let pride set itself down: you are the One's, and so is everyone. The rahau asks why we wander lost, grasping 'mine, mine' only to regret it — for without the Name nothing helps. Accept what the One does and it grows sweet; by grace the One comes to dwell within. The One is carefree and beyond the senses; keep it in view all day and pain dissolves, the face grows bright. Countless have been carried across by praise — even sinking iron floats in good company, wherever grace is received.
Key Vocabulary
mayraa mayraa — 'mine, mine'; possessiveness as the trap.
bhaa-naa — the will/flow of the One, which turns sweet in acceptance.
vayparvaahu — carefree, independent; a favorite Arjan image.
booldat loh — sinking iron, lifted in the saadhsang.
Themes and Cross-Connections
The 'sinking iron floats' image is one of Gurbani's most hopeful pictures of sangat — iron cannot swim, but lashed to the boat it crosses; no one is too heavy or too far gone. Bhaa-naa as something that turns sweet in acceptance is the affective side of mannai (inner alignment). The 'you belong, and so does everyone' line quietly levels all hierarchy.
For Raag Raamkalee
Raamkalee's solitary-ascetic associations are answered by the saadhsang here: it is company, not solitude, that lifts the sinking.
Translation Notes
The literal moorh ('fool') in the rahau is rendered as a gentle 'wandering, lost' rather than an insult, per the rule to soften harsh self-address.
You belong to the One, and so does everyone — so why grasp at 'mine'?
The Arc
Honor the One who owns all, let pride set itself down: you are the One's, and so is everyone. The rahau asks why we wander lost, grasping 'mine, mine' only to regret it — for without the Name nothing helps. Accept what the One does and it grows sweet; by grace the One comes to dwell within. The One is carefree and beyond the senses; keep it in view all day and pain dissolves, the face grows bright. Countless have been carried across by praise — even sinking iron floats in good company, wherever grace is received.
Key Vocabulary
Themes and Cross-Connections
The 'sinking iron floats' image is one of Gurbani's most hopeful pictures of sangat — iron cannot swim, but lashed to the boat it crosses; no one is too heavy or too far gone. Bhaa-naa as something that turns sweet in acceptance is the affective side of mannai (inner alignment). The 'you belong, and so does everyone' line quietly levels all hierarchy.
For Raag Raamkalee
Raamkalee's solitary-ascetic associations are answered by the saadhsang here: it is company, not solitude, that lifts the sinking.
Translation Notes
The literal moorh ('fool') in the rahau is rendered as a gentle 'wandering, lost' rather than an insult, per the rule to soften harsh self-address.
Last updated: 2026-07-09