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Sikhism·Raag Tukhaari·Shabad 1
Verse 1 of 17

Whatever You Give Is Good

ਤੁਖਾਰੀ ਛੰਤ ਮਹਲਾ ੧ ਬਾਰਹ ਮਾਹਾ
tukhaaree chhant mehlaa 1 baarah maahaa
Tukhaari Chhant, First Mehl, Baarah Maahaa ~ The Twelve Months:
ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥
ik-oNkaar satgur parsaad.
One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:
ਤੂ ਸੁਣਿ ਕਿਰਤ ਕਰੰਮਾ ਪੁਰਬਿ ਕਮਾਇਆ ॥
too sun kirat karammaa purab kamaa-i-aa.
Listen: according to the karma of their past actions,
ਸਿਰਿ ਸਿਰਿ ਸੁਖ ਸਹੰਮਾ ਦੇਹਿ ਸੁ ਤੂ ਭਲਾ ॥
sir sir sukh sahammaa deh so too bhalaa.
each and every person experiences happiness or sorrow; whatever You give, Lord, is good.
ਹਰਿ ਰਚਨਾ ਤੇਰੀ ਕਿਆ ਗਤਿ ਮੇਰੀ ਹਰਿ ਬਿਨੁ ਘੜੀ ਨ ਜੀਵਾ ॥
har rachnaa tayree ki-aa gat mayree har bin gharhee na jeevaa.
O Lord, the Created Universe is Yours; what is my condition? Without the Lord, I cannot survive, even for an instant.
ਪ੍ਰਿਅ ਬਾਝੁ ਦੁਹੇਲੀ ਕੋਇ ਨ ਬੇਲੀ ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤੁ ਪੀਵਾਂ ॥
pari-a baajh duhaylee ko-ay na baylee gurmukh amrit peevaaN.
Without my Beloved, I am miserable; I have no friend at all. As Gurmukh, I drink in the Ambrosial Nectar.
ਰਚਨਾ ਰਾਚਿ ਰਹੇ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰੀ ਪ੍ਰਭ ਮਨਿ ਕਰਮ ਸੁਕਰਮਾ ॥
rachnaa raach rahay nirankaaree parabh man karam sukarmaa.
The Formless Lord is contained in His Creation. To obey God is the best course of action.
ਨਾਨਕ ਪੰਥੁ ਨਿਹਾਲੇ ਸਾ ਧਨ ਤੂ ਸੁਣਿ ਆਤਮ ਰਾਮਾ ॥੧॥
naanak panth nihaalay saa Dhan too sun aatam raamaa. ||1||
O Nanak, the soul-bride is gazing upon Your Path; please listen, O Supreme Soul. ||1||

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa

In plain words

There is only One. And the One is found by the True Guru's grace — a gift that is always here, waiting for an open heart.

Listen: each person meets joy or sorrow, the fruit of what they did before. Whatever You give is good.

This whole world is Yours, my Lord. What is there of me? Without You I cannot live even a moment.

Without my Beloved I feel lost, with no friend at all. Following the Guru, I drink the sweet nectar.

The formless One fills everything It made. Moving with the One's will is the best thing to do.

Nanak says: my heart keeps watching Your road. Listen, You who live in every soul.

Whatever the year brings, it can be met as a gift when the heart stays turned toward home.
The deeper layer

Kirat karam is the long trail of a person's past actions (what many children know as karma), and whatever it brings can be met as a gift. Nirankaar is the formless Oneness that fills its own creation, so obeying means moving with the flow of existence (Hukam). The soul-bride gazing on the path is the heart watching the road home. Listen comes first and last, so the whole year opens as an act of deep listening.

A Question to Sit With

When something hard comes your way, what would change if you trusted there was something good hidden in it?

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

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