ਕਿਆ ਏ ਭੂਪਤਿ ਬਪੁਰੇ ਕਹੀਅਹਿ ਕਹੁ ਏ ਕਿਸ ਨੋ ਮਾਰਹਿ ॥
ki-aa ay bhoopat bapuray kahee-ahi kaho ay kis no maareh.
And what about these poor kings? Tell me, who can they kill?
ਰਾਖੁ ਰਾਖੁ ਰਾਖੁ ਸੁਖਦਾਤੇ ਸਭੁ ਨਾਨਕ ਜਗਤੁ ਤੁਮ੍ਹ੍ਹਾਰਹਿ ॥੨॥੧੧॥੩੪॥
raakh raakh raakh sukh-daatay sabh naanak jagat tumHaarahi. ||2||11||34||
Save me, save me, save me, O Giver of peace; O Nanak, all the world is Yours. ||2||11||34||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
What can these poor kings do? Tell me, whose life is in their hands?
Keep me safe, keep me safe, keep me safe, Giver of peace. Nanak says, the whole world is Yours.
The biggest powers in the world are small next to the One who holds the whole world.
Next to the One, even kings are small. Bhoopat bapuray, the poor kings: outward power is smaller than it looks, and no ruler holds life in their hands.
Guru Arjan lived under emperors, and here he sets all of it under the One: sabh jagat tumhaarahi, all the world is Yours. The triple raakh raakh raakh is not fear but the trust of a child calling out, sure of being heard.
A Question to Sit With
When something powerful seems scary, what helps you remember it is smaller than it looks?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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