Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Your Name has a way of washing a heart clean, even one that feels it has gotten everything wrong.
So hold onto me too — I come with empty hands and nothing to show, and I trust that is exactly who You welcome.
This is the Rahao, the "pause" line, the center of the shabad. It says the One's Name washes hearts clean.
Patit paavan parabh naam tumaaray — Your Name, O One, is patit paavan: it lifts up those who have fallen. Then: raakh layho mohi nirgunee-aaray — please keep me, though I have no goodness of my own. Nirgun here means "without good qualities of my own."
This is not saying anyone is worthless. It is like coming to a party empty-handed and being welcomed anyway. Think of a friend who says, "Come over, you don't need to bring anything." The verse trusts that the One welcomes us just like that.
Can you ask for help even when you feel you have nothing to offer in return?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI