Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Wife or husband, children, parents, brothers and sisters — not one of them can hold your hand at the end.
And when I finally fall, and the moment for my last prayer comes, there is no one else who can rescue me.
This one says: at the very end, the One is the hand we can hold.
Nanak names the people we love most. Husband or wife, children, parents, brothers and sisters. None of them can hold our hand at that last door. Aakhir bi-aftam — when at last I fall — no one else can rescue me.
That can sound sad. But it is not saying love doesn't matter. Love matters a great deal. It is showing where our deepest help comes from. Think of a relay race. Your team cheers you all the way. But the last steps over the line, you take yourself. Nanak says the One takes them with you.
Each of us crosses that last door, and the One goes along. Nanak says this not to scare us. He says it so we turn our hearts toward that Friend now, while there is time.
Who or what do you most want 'with you' for the moments no one else can share?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI