ਆਪੇ ਕਾਸਟ ਆਪਿ ਹਰਿ ਪਿਆਰਾ ਵਿਚਿ ਕਾਸਟ ਅਗਨਿ ਰਖਾਇਆ ॥
aapay kaasat aap har pi-aaraa vich kaasat agan rakhaa-i-aa.
The Beloved Lord Himself is the firewood, and He Himself keeps the fire within the wood.
ਆਪੇ ਹੀ ਆਪਿ ਵਰਤਦਾ ਪਿਆਰਾ ਭੈ ਅਗਨਿ ਨ ਸਕੈ ਜਲਾਇਆ ॥
aapay hee aap varatdaa pi-aaraa bhai agan na sakai jalaa-i-aa.
The Beloved Lord Himself, all by Himself, permeates them, and because of the Fear of God, the fire cannot burn the wood.
ਆਪੇ ਮਾਰਿ ਜੀਵਾਇਦਾ ਪਿਆਰਾ ਸਾਹ ਲੈਦੇ ਸਭਿ ਲਵਾਇਆ ॥੩॥
aapay maar jeevaa-idaa pi-aaraa saah laiday sabh lavaa-i-aa. ||3||
The Beloved Himself kills and revives; all draw the breath of life, given by Him. ||3||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
The Beloved is the wood and the fire hidden inside it.
It fills them both, and by its quiet order the fire rests unlit until its time.
It brings life and gathers it back, and every breath any of us takes is given by it.
Every breath you take is a gift from the One.
Fire latent inside wood, held in check by bhai — the awe-order — until its moment: the One governs even hidden potential, the spark that waits. Aapay maar jeevaa-idaa — “kills and revives” — is read as the life-cycle: gathering back and giving life. The tender close, saah laiday sabh lavaa-i-aa, makes it personal — every breath you take is a gift from the One.
A Question to Sit With
When did you last notice your own breath as something given, not automatic?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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