Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
At the end the True Guru said: "When I am gone, sing Kirtan, praise of the One, with a free and peaceful heart.
Call the long-haired scholars, the holy people of the One, to read the story of the One, Har, Har.
Read the story of the One and listen to the Name; the Guru is pleased by love for the One.
Don't bother with rice-ball offerings on leaves, lamps, and floating the remains on the Ganges; give what remains to the One's pool."
The One was pleased as the True Guru spoke, and he melted into the all-knowing One.
Then the Guru gave Ram Das, of the Sodhi family, the tilak mark on his forehead — the sign of the true Shabad.
The Guru asks for singing, not ceremonies, after he is gone.
Mai pichhai keertan kari-ahu means "after I am gone, sing keertan." Keertan means singing the praises of the One. He asks people to read and listen to the story of the One and the Name.
He also says to skip the usual funeral customs of his day. These were rice-ball offerings on leaves, lamps, and floating the remains on the Ganges river. Instead, his remains should simply be given back to the One.
This is not aimed at any one faith. It is a lesson that comes back again and again: living love matters more than a fixed ceremony, wherever a ceremony has turned into only a habit. A birthday song sung with love means more than the fanciest party done without it.
Last, the Guru gives Ram Das the tilak, a mark on the forehead. It is the neesaan, the outer sign of the true Word passed to the next teacher.
What is a way you remember someone that feels alive rather than routine?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI