Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Every unkind thing we do is a bit like a small chain that weighs us down.
But growing good qualities cuts those chains right off — and those good qualities are like true brothers and sisters to us.
The good we grow inside is our truest family, freeing and standing by us.
The shabad closes with a beautiful, hopeful image, and it seals the whole Wadahans section: aogun jetrhe tete galee janjeer... je gun hon ta katee-an, se bhaaee se veer—"as many as are one's faults, so many are the chains around the neck; but if one has virtues, the chains are cut away — and these virtues are his brothers, his true brothers." What a picture for a child: our unkind habits weigh us down like little chains, but every good quality we grow cuts a chain and sets us freer — and those good qualities become like true family, brothers and sisters who stand by us and free us. Guru Nanak turns the whole memento mori toward hope: grow goodness, and be free. The colophon (||4||1||) closes the shabad and bridges into Raag Sorath. For a child: unkind habits weigh us down like little chains, but every good quality we grow cuts one — and those good qualities are our truest family.
What good quality could you grow that would 'cut a chain' and set you freer?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI