"You did not earn your way here; you are part of the One's unfolding play."
The Arc
This shabad reaches back before creation: when nothing existed, no karma had been done, so being here was never earned - the One simply set the play in motion and watches it. The rahaao confesses that nothing happens by the self alone. The middle verses move from ledger to grace - a strict account would condemn, but the One's forgiveness keeps no score - and then to the sheer vastness only the One can measure. It closes with empty hands and a single wish: that the flow of existence begin to taste sweet.
Key Vocabulary
khayl - the play, the cosmic game
aapay kartaa aap karaa-ay - the One both acts and causes acting
gantee ganee na chhootai - counted by strict account, one is never freed
bakhas niraalee - a singular, unlike-anything forgiveness
mithaa lagai tayraa bhaanaa - may Your Will taste sweet
Themes and Cross-Connections
Creation as play, grace over ledger, and the ripening in which hukam stops being merely tolerated and becomes sweet.
For Raag Soohee
Even a cosmological opening resolves, in Soohee, into an intimate domestic wish - that daily life feel sweet.
Translation Notes
The self-lowering language (nirgun mugaDh) is rendered as honest empty-handedness rather than self-loathing.
"You did not earn your way here; you are part of the One's unfolding play."
The Arc
This shabad reaches back before creation: when nothing existed, no karma had been done, so being here was never earned - the One simply set the play in motion and watches it. The rahaao confesses that nothing happens by the self alone. The middle verses move from ledger to grace - a strict account would condemn, but the One's forgiveness keeps no score - and then to the sheer vastness only the One can measure. It closes with empty hands and a single wish: that the flow of existence begin to taste sweet.
Key Vocabulary
Themes and Cross-Connections
Creation as play, grace over ledger, and the ripening in which hukam stops being merely tolerated and becomes sweet.
For Raag Soohee
Even a cosmological opening resolves, in Soohee, into an intimate domestic wish - that daily life feel sweet.
Translation Notes
The self-lowering language (nirgun mugaDh) is rendered as honest empty-handedness rather than self-loathing.
Last updated: 2026-07-08