Sikhism·Raag Sorath·Shabad 41
Verse 4 of 4

You Are Carried, Never Left to Cross Alone

ਪਾਰਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਪਰਮੇਸੁਰ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਸਭਨਾ ਕਰਤ ਉਧਾਰਾ ॥
paarbarahm parmaysur satgur sabhnaa karat uDhaaraa.
The Supreme Lord God, the Transcendent Lord, the True Guru, saves all.
ਕਹੁ ਨਾਨਕ ਗੁਰ ਬਿਨੁ ਨਹੀ ਤਰੀਐ ਇਹੁ ਪੂਰਨ ਤਤੁ ਬੀਚਾਰਾ ॥੪॥੯॥
kaho naanak gur bin nahee taree-ai ih pooran tat beechaaraa. ||4||9||
Says Nanak, without the Guru, no one crosses over; this is the perfect essence of all contemplation. ||4||9||

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa

In plain words

The Highest, the teacher within and beyond, lifts everyone up.

Without the teaching no one crosses over — this is the whole heart of the matter.

Distilled all the way down, the whole teaching is this: you are carried, not left to cross alone.
The deeper layer

This one says: you are carried, and you never cross alone.

The Guru calls the One by its fullest names: paarbarahm parmaysur satgur. That means the Highest, the Supreme Lord, and the True Guru. Then he gives the One a single job: sabhnaa karat uDhaaraa, lifting up everyone. Not a chosen few. Everyone.

The last line is ih pooran tat beechaaraa: this is the whole heart of all thinking. It is like cooking a big pot of soup down until only the best flavor is left. When you boil everything down, this is what remains. You are carried, and you do not cross alone.

A Question to Sit With

When have you crossed something hard because someone helped carry you?

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI

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