Sikhism·Raag Saarang·Shabad 25
Verse 3 of 5

A Story That Cannot Be Told

ਜੈਸੇ ਪਵਨੁ ਬੰਧ ਕਰਿ ਰਾਖਿਓ ਬੂਝ ਨ ਆਵਤ ਜਾਵਤ ॥
jaisay pavan banDh kar raakhi-o boojh na aavat jaavat.
As the breath is held in bondage, no one can understand its coming in and going out.
ਜਾ ਕਉ ਰਿਦੈ ਪ੍ਰਗਾਸੁ ਭਇਓ ਹਰਿ ਉਆ ਕੀ ਕਹੀ ਨ ਜਾਇ ਕਹਾਵਤ ॥੨॥
jaa ka-o ridai pargaas bha-i-o har u-aa kee kahee na jaa-ay kahaavat. ||2||
So is that person, whose heart is enlightened by the Lord - his story cannot be told. ||2||

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa

In plain words

Some things happen too deep inside to watch or explain — like the quiet way your breath comes and goes without you even noticing.

When someone's heart lights up with the One, it is like that. You cannot fully put it into words or show it to anyone. It is real, but it lives in a place words cannot reach.

The deepest changes happen in a place that words cannot reach.
The deeper layer

The breath-image points to how the deepest workings happen below the level of the watching mind. A heart in which the divine light has dawned undergoes something that cannot be told — not because it is a secret but because it is beyond the reach of description. Experience outruns language.

A Question to Sit With

What is something you know is real even though you cannot fully explain it?

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

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