Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Let your service be simply this: pointing your whole attention toward the One. Let your daily job be keeping the Name in your heart.
Let your work be gently turning away from what harms — then people truly call you blessed.
And Nanak says: when grace looks upon you, your life takes on colors four times brighter than before.
This one says: point your attention at the One, gently turn from what harms, and grace makes your life glow.
The last part names the everyday practice. Chaakree, service, is simply focused attention. Kamm, your daily work, is trusting and holding the Name. And the honest labor is bann badee-aa, holding back from harmful ways. It is like gently putting down something heavy. The point is healing, not guilt.
Then comes a lovely picture: charhai chavgan vann, "you take on color four times over." Think of a white T-shirt dipped in dye again and again. Each time the color gets deeper and brighter. A true life glows like that, and people call it blessed.
The last word belongs to grace: vaykhai nadar kar, "the One looks with a kind glance." Nadar means the loving look of grace. Grace is not a paycheck you earn. It is like sunlight that pours in once you open the curtains.
The shabad ends where it began. A life cared for quietly, like a farm, becomes bright and beautiful.
What is one harmful habit you could gently set down, not out of guilt, but to feel lighter?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI