Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
You are what holds up my body and mind, O Beloved — You, and no one else.
There is no other maker but You; You alone know what stirs inside every heart.
A heart can wander for ages, lost and aching, drifting far from home.
Forgetting its true Source, it carries a heavy load — until it meets the true teaching and takes hold of the True Name.
We find our way by keeping company with those who have found their shelter in the One.
This is the Rahao, the "pause" line and the center of the whole shabad: You are what holds me up.
Man tan tayree tayk hai — my mind and body lean on You. A tayk is a support, like the wall you lean on when you're tired. The One is also antarjaamee, the inner-knower, who sees what stirs inside every heart.
Then the verse remembers a long, long wandering, kot janam bharam. That means drifting through countless lifetimes, lost and aching. Forgetting the True One, the heart carries a heavy load.
The way home is simple: good company. Tinaa pichhai chhutee-ai — we are set free by following those who already shelter in the One. Sikhs call this company the sangat. It's like walking home in the dark behind a friend who knows the path.
Who do you lean on when everything else feels shaky?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI