Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Sometimes a whole life can slip by as if you were asleep, caught in a bad dream you never woke up from.
The Guru's Word was calling the whole time, but the sleeper never stirred, and no spark of joy lit up inside.
A life with no warmth or goodness in it, that never serves the Guru, stays feverish and unsettled.
I have seen the whole restless world like that, spinning in ego and chasing shiny things.
Nanak says: those who take shelter with the Guru come safely through, holding Truth in their minds and meditating on the Word.
Wake up and live your life awake.
Suti-aa ga-ee vihaa-ay means your life has passed in sleep. It is like a bad dream you never woke from. The Guru's Word was calling, sun na jaagi-o, but you did not wake to hear it. Think of an alarm ringing and ringing while someone keeps pressing snooze.
The verse uses fire pictures. Sareer jala-o speaks of a body burning, and jagat jalandaa of a whole world burning. They picture a life without warmth or goodness, feverish and restless. The world burns in ha-umai, the ego, and doojaa bhaa-ay, loving what keeps us apart from the One.
The ending brings shelter and hope. Gur sarnaa-ee ubray: those who take shelter with the Guru come through safely.
What are the moments when you feel most awake and alive? What tends to put you into a kind of "sleepwalking" where the day just slides by?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI