Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
After all of that, what is left to say? Not much. Whatever true words come, come through me, not from me.
So I ask for only one small thing — the dust at the feet of the Sangat. Nanak says: I, the servant, have come to them for shelter.
After all that talk of pride, the Guru ends with no pride at all, only a humble wish.
Ki-aa ham kathah — "What can I say?" Guru Arjan says he speaks only as God wills. Even his words are handed back to the One.
Then he asks for one thing: saaDhsangat kee Dhoor, the dust of the feet of the Sangat. SaaDhsangat means the gathering of people who love the One. In Gurbani, "dust of the feet" is a picture of lowering your pride all the way to the ground.
That is the cure for the self-importance the whole song has described. Think of a team player who says, "I just want to help the team," and truly means it.
Why might becoming humble feel like relief rather than loss?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI