Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
There is only One. And the One is found by the True Guru's grace — a gift that is always here, waiting for an open heart.
Even when I have made mistakes, even when I have gotten things wrong, I am still Yours — that belonging does not get canceled by my slip-ups.
Some give their whole heart to what can never love them back. In the end, they are left aching and sorry.
Guru Arjan begins with comfort: even when I mess up, I still belong to You.
Jay bhulee jay chukee saa-een bhee tahinjee kaadhee-aa means "even if I forget, even if I slip, Master, I am still called Yours." Bhulee means forgot or went wrong. Chukee means slipped.
Jinhaa nayhu doojaanay lagaa means those whose nayhu, their love, is fixed on the doojaa, the "other." The other means anything besides the One, things that can't last. Those people end up aching and sorry. Think of a kid who drops the ball in a game. The team doesn't kick them off. They are still on the team. Belonging to the One survives our mistakes.
This shabad is a Kaafee, a kind of folk song. Some of its words come from Sindhi and Multani, languages spoken in the region along the Indus river.
When have you learned that a real bond can survive a mistake?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI