ਤਿਲੰਗ ਮਹਲਾ ੪ ॥
tilang mehlaa 4.
Tilang, Fourth Mehl:
ਹਰਿ ਕੀਆ ਕਥਾ ਕਹਾਣੀਆ ਗੁਰਿ ਮੀਤਿ ਸੁਣਾਈਆ ॥
har kee-aa kathaa kahaanee-aa gur meet sunaa-ee-aa.
The Guru, my friend, has told me the stories and the sermon of the Lord.
ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਗੁਰ ਆਪਣੇ ਗੁਰ ਕਉ ਬਲਿ ਜਾਈਆ ॥੧॥
balihaaree gur aapnay gur ka-o bal jaa-ee-aa. ||1||
I am a sacrifice to my Guru; to the Guru, I am a sacrifice. ||1||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
My friend the teaching has told me the stories and the wisdom of the One.
I would give anything for my teacher — anything at all.
The teacher who hands you what's true is a friend, not a distant authority — and gratitude for that overflows.
Ram Das opens this long, warm hymn in overflowing gratitude to "the Guru, my friend" who has shared "the sermon of the Lord." The teacher is a friend, not a distant authority — devotion as friendship. And the response is total: "I am a sacrifice to my Guru." The whole 22-verse song will pour out this one feeling from many angles — the joy of having been given the story of the One by someone who loves you.
A Question to Sit With
Who has been a 'friend' in handing you something true and good? How do you carry that gratitude?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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