Sikhism·Raag Tukhaari·Shabad 11
Verse 1 of 4

My Mind Soaked Like a Fish in Water

ਤੁਖਾਰੀ ਛੰਤ ਮਹਲਾ ੫
tukhaaree chhant mehlaa 5
ੴ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥
ik-oNkaar satgur parsaad.
ਘੋਲਿ ਘੁਮਾਈ ਲਾਲਨਾ ਗੁਰਿ ਮਨੁ ਦੀਨਾ ॥
ghol ghumaa-ee laalnaa gur man deenaa.
ਸੁਣਿ ਸਬਦੁ ਤੁਮਾਰਾ ਮੇਰਾ ਮਨੁ ਭੀਨਾ ॥
sun sabad tumaaraa mayraa man bheenaa.
ਇਹੁ ਮਨੁ ਭੀਨਾ ਜਿਉ ਜਲ ਮੀਨਾ ਲਾਗਾ ਰੰਗੁ ਮੁਰਾਰਾ ॥
ih man bheenaa ji-o jal meenaa laagaa rang muraaraa.
ਕੀਮਤਿ ਕਹੀ ਨ ਜਾਈ ਠਾਕੁਰ ਤੇਰਾ ਮਹਲੁ ਅਪਾਰਾ ॥
keemat kahee na jaa-ee thaakur tayraa mahal apaaraa.
ਸਗਲ ਗੁਣਾ ਕੇ ਦਾਤੇ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਬਿਨਉ ਸੁਨਹੁ ਇਕ ਦੀਨਾ ॥
sagal gunaa kay daatay su-aamee bin-o sunhu ik deenaa.
ਦੇਹੁ ਦਰਸੁ ਨਾਨਕ ਬਲਿਹਾਰੀ ਜੀਅੜਾ ਬਲਿ ਬਲਿ ਕੀਨਾ ॥੧॥
dayh daras naanak balihaaree jee-arhaa bal bal keenaa. ||1||

Tukhaari Chhant, Fifth Mehl:

One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:

O my Beloved, I am a sacrifice to You. Through the Guru, I have dedicated my mind to You.

Hearing the Word of Your Shabad, my mind is enraptured.

This mind is enraptured, like the fish in the water; it is lovingly attached to the Lord.

Your Worth cannot be described, O my Lord and Master; Your Mansion is Incomparable and Unrivalled.

O Giver of all Virtue, O my Lord and Master, please hear the prayer of this humble person.

Please bless Nanak with the Blessed Vision of Your Darshan. I am a sacrifice, my soul is a sacrifice, a sacrifice to You. ||1||

# Raag Tukhaari, Shabad 11 — My Mind Soaked Like a Fish in Water

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.

O my Beloved, I would give anything for You. Through the Guru I have handed You my whole mind.

The moment I hear Your Word, my mind soaks it up and softens all the way through.

It is like being a fish in water: I only feel alive when I am surrounded by love for the One.

No one can put a price on You, and the home where You live is beyond anything I can picture.

You give every good thing there is, so please listen to this small, plain prayer of mine.

Just let me see You. My heart is Yours, completely and gladly.

Some loves are like water to a fish: you only feel fully alive surrounded by them.
The deeper layer

This opens the final composition of Raag Tukhaari, a tender Chhant by Guru Arjan, the Fifth Mehl. Man bheena means the mind "drenched" or "soaked," softened right through by hearing the Word. The central image is jal meena, the fish in water, which cannot live for a moment apart from the water it swims in, exactly how the heart feels about the One. Mahal apaara is the incomparable home of the Beloved. The intense devotion words ("I would give anything," balihaaree) are kept child-safe as wholehearted love, never anything literal, and the small prayer is daras, the longing simply to see.

A Question to Sit With

What is something you feel you could not really live without, the way a fish needs water?

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

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