I Will Not Let Go for an Instant

ਹਉ ਨਿਮਖ ਨ ਛੋਡਾ ਜੀ ਹਰਿ ਪ੍ਰੀਤਮ ਪ੍ਰਾਨ ਅਧਾਰੋ ॥

ha-o nimakh na chhodaa jee har pareetam paraan aDhaaro.

I shall not forsake, even for an instant, my Dear Beloved Lord, the Support of the breath of life.

ਗੁਰਿ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਕਹਿਆ ਜੀ ਸਾਚਾ ਅਗਮ ਬੀਚਾਰੋ ॥

gur satgur kahi-aa jee saachaa agam beechaaro.

The Guru, the True Guru, has instructed me in the contemplation of the True, Inaccessible Lord.

ਮਿਲਿ ਸਾਧੂ ਦੀਨਾ ਤਾ ਨਾਮੁ ਲੀਨਾ ਜਨਮ ਮਰਣ ਦੁਖ ਨਾਠੇ ॥

mil saaDhoo deenaa taa naam leenaa janam maran dukh naathay.

Meeting with the humble, Holy Saint, I obtained the Naam, the Name of the Lord, and the pains of birth and death left me.

ਸਹਜ ਸੂਖ ਆਨੰਦ ਘਨੇਰੇ ਹਉਮੈ ਬਿਨਠੀ ਗਾਠੇ ॥

sahj sookh aanand ghanayray ha-umai binthee gaathay.

I have been blessed with peace, poise and abundant bliss, and the knot of egotism has been untied.

ਸਭ ਕੈ ਮਧਿ ਸਭ ਹੂ ਤੇ ਬਾਹਰਿ ਰਾਗ ਦੋਖ ਤੇ ਨਿਆਰੋ ॥

sabh kai maDh sabh hoo tay baahar raag dokh tay ni-aaro.

He is inside all, and outside of all; He is untouched by love or hate.

ਨਾਨਕ ਦਾਸ ਗੋਬਿੰਦ ਸਰਣਾਈ ਹਰਿ ਪ੍ਰੀਤਮੁ ਮਨਹਿ ਸਧਾਰੋ ॥੩॥

naanak daas gobind sarnaa-ee har pareetam maneh saDhaaro. ||3||

Slave Nanak has entered the Sanctuary of the Lord of the Universe; the Beloved Lord is the Support of the mind. ||3||

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa

In plain words

I will not let go of my Beloved even for a heartbeat — the very support of my breath.

The Teacher gave me the true teaching about the One who is beyond all reach; and meeting a humble, good soul, I received the Name, and the aches of coming and going slipped away.

Peace and steadiness and deep gladness came, and the tight knot of ego loosened at last. The One is inside everything and beyond everything too, untouched by favoring or dislike — evenhanded toward all. I rest in His shelter; my Beloved is the support of my mind.

The One is evenhanded toward all — taking no sides, holding no grudge.

The deeper layer

raag dokh tay ni-aaro — the One untouched by attraction or aversion, beyond taking sides: an evenhandedness close to nirvair, without enmity, that models a heart free of favoritism and grudge. haumai binthee gaathe, the knot (gaathe) of ego untied: ego as a tangle loosened, not an enemy destroyed. sabh kai madh sabh hoo tay baahar, the One both within all and beyond all.

A Question to Sit With

What would it look like to treat everyone evenhandedly, without picking favorites?

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

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