Sikhism·Raag Raamkalee·Shabad 1
Verse 5 of 5

The One Who Stays at the End

ਨ ਕਿਸੀ ਕਾ ਮੀਤੁ ਨ ਕਿਸੀ ਕਾ ਭਾਈ ਨਾ ਕਿਸੈ ਬਾਪੁ ਨ ਮਾਈ ॥
na kisee kaa meet na kisee kaa bhaa-ee naa kisai baap na maa-ee.
No one has any friend, and no one has any brother; no one has any father or mother.
ਪ੍ਰਣਵਤਿ ਨਾਨਕ ਜੇ ਤੂ ਦੇਵਹਿ ਅੰਤੇ ਹੋਇ ਸਖਾਈ ॥੪॥੧॥
paranvat naanak jay too dayveh antay ho-ay sakhaa-ee. ||4||1||
Prays Nanak, if You bless me with Your Name, it shall be my help and support in the end. ||4||1||

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa

In plain words

In the end, no one has a friend to keep, or a brother, or a father or a mother.

Nanak prays: if You give me Your Name, it will be my help and my companion at the end.

Love your people fully, and let the Name be the friend that walks the whole way.
The deeper layer

At the very end, the Name is the friend who comes along with us.

Na kisee kaa meet means "no one is anyone's friend." It can sound sad. But it does not say our family and friends do not matter. They matter very much. It only says there is one last doorway they cannot walk through with us.

Think of a relay race. Your teammates run with you, cheer, and hand you the baton. But the last stretch is yours to run. Something can still go with you all the way.

The closing prayer names it. Jay too dayveh antay ho-ay sakhaa-ee means "if You give it, it will be my helper at the end." That helper is the Naam, the Name, the One's presence that the soul carries with it.

A Question to Sit With

Who or what do you most want beside you when things are hardest?

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI

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