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Sikhism·Raag Wadahans·Shabad 52
Verse 52 of 64

Let the Good Be Your Food, Clothing, and Work

ਪਉੜੀ ॥
pa-orhee.
Pauree:
ਹਰਿ ਨਾਮੁ ਹਮਾਰਾ ਭੋਜਨੁ ਛਤੀਹ ਪਰਕਾਰ ਜਿਤੁ ਖਾਇਐ ਹਮ ਕਉ ਤ੍ਰਿਪਤਿ ਭਈ ॥
har naam hamaaraa bhojan chhateeh parkaar jit khaa-i-ai ham ka-o taripat bha-ee.
The Lord's Name is my food; eating the thirty-six varieties of it, I am satisfied and satiated.
ਹਰਿ ਨਾਮੁ ਹਮਾਰਾ ਪੈਨਣੁ ਜਿਤੁ ਫਿਰਿ ਨੰਗੇ ਨ ਹੋਵਹ ਹੋਰ ਪੈਨਣ ਕੀ ਹਮਾਰੀ ਸਰਧ ਗਈ ॥
har naam hamaaraa painan jit fir nangay na hovah hor painan kee hamaaree saraDh ga-ee.
The Lord's Name is my clothing; wearing it, I shall never be naked again, and my desire to wear other clothing is gone.
ਹਰਿ ਨਾਮੁ ਹਮਾਰਾ ਵਣਜੁ ਹਰਿ ਨਾਮੁ ਵਾਪਾਰੁ ਹਰਿ ਨਾਮੈ ਕੀ ਹਮ ਕੰਉ ਸਤਿਗੁਰਿ ਕਾਰਕੁਨੀ ਦੀਈ ॥
har naam hamaaraa vanaj har naam vaapaar har naamai kee ham kaN-u satgur kaarkunee dee-ee.
The Lord's Name is my business, the Lord's Name is my commerce; the True Guru has blessed me with its use.
ਹਰਿ ਨਾਮੈ ਕਾ ਹਮ ਲੇਖਾ ਲਿਖਿਆ ਸਭ ਜਮ ਕੀ ਅਗਲੀ ਕਾਣਿ ਗਈ ॥
har naamai kaa ham laykhaa likhi-aa sabh jam kee aglee kaan ga-ee.
I record the account of the Lord's Name, and I shall not be subject to death again.
ਹਰਿ ਕਾ ਨਾਮੁ ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਕਿਨੈ ਵਿਰਲੈ ਧਿਆਇਆ ਜਿਨ ਕੰਉ ਧੁਰਿ ਕਰਮਿ ਪਰਾਪਤਿ ਲਿਖਤੁ ਪਈ ॥੧੭॥
har kaa naam gurmukh kinai virlai Dhi-aa-i-aa jin kaN-u Dhur karam paraapat likhat pa-ee. ||17||
Only a few, as Gurmukh, meditate on the Lord's Name; they are blessed by the Lord, and receive their pre-ordained destiny. ||17||

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa

In plain words

The good is my food — every kind of it — and eating it, I'm fully satisfied.

The good is my clothing — wearing it, I'm never left cold or bare.

It's my work and my business too; it's the whole of my day.

Let the good be your food, your clothing, and your work — woven right through your ordinary day.
The deeper layer

A beautiful everyday litany: "the Name is my food; eating the thirty-six varieties, I am satisfied... the Name is my clothing; wearing it, I shall never be naked... the Name is my business, my commerce." Goodness as the food that fills, the clothes that cover, the work that occupies — woven through the whole of ordinary life, not saved for special moments. For a child: let the good be your food, your clothing, and your work — woven right through your ordinary day.

A Question to Sit With

How could goodness be part of even the most ordinary parts of your day?

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

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Verse 53 of 64 →The Me-Versus-Them Way Brings Needless Hurt
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