Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
A fish may be taken from the water, cut apart, and cooked in a dozen ways.
It may be eaten piece by piece, and still, even then, it does not forget the water it came from.
A fish never forgets the water, and a true lover never forgets the One.
Ravidas uses a strong picture here. Meen pakar — a fish is caught. It is taken far from the water and cooked in many ways. Ta-oo na bisri-o paanee — "still, it does not forget the water."
The point is not the cooking. The picture is there only to show a love that nothing can erase. The water is the fish's home, and its whole life belongs there, even when it is far away. Think of someone who moved to a new country long ago. They live far from home now, but one smell of their mother's cooking brings it all back. For Ravidas, the One is his water. Whatever happens, his heart still remembers where it belongs.
What is something you love so deeply you could never forget it?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI