ਆਨੀਲੇ ਕੁੰਭੁ ਭਰਾਈਲੇ ਊਦਕ ਰਾਜ ਕੁਆਰਿ ਪੁਰੰਦਰੀਏ ॥
aaneelay kumbh bharaa-eelay oodak raaj ku-aar purandree-ay.
The young girl in the city takes a pitcher, and fills it with water.
ਹਸਤ ਬਿਨੋਦ ਬੀਚਾਰ ਕਰਤੀ ਹੈ ਚੀਤੁ ਸੁ ਗਾਗਰਿ ਰਾਖੀਅਲੇ ॥੨॥
hasat binod beechaar kartee hai cheet so gaagar raakhee-alay. ||2||
She laughs, and plays, and talks with her friends, but she keeps her attention focused on the pitcher of water. ||2||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
A young girl in the city takes her pitcher and fills it with water.
She laughs and plays and talks with her friends, but her attention stays on the pitcher of water.
You can be full of laughter and still never spill what matters.
The water-carrier balances a full pitcher on her head through all her laughing and talking. The skill is not in stopping the talk but in never losing the thread of care. Devotion lives inside the activity here, not instead of it.
A Question to Sit With
What is something precious you carry carefully without even thinking about it?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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