Forget the Beloved for an Instant, and Suffering Arrives

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa

Ik til pi-aaraa visrai dukh laagai sukh jaa-ay — if you forget the Beloved even for a til (sesame seed — the tiniest unit of measurement Punjabi has), suffering immediately arrives and peace immediately departs. The til as measure of time: forget for even that long, and the interruption is felt.

This is not fear-mongering. It is description of an experiential reality the devotee recognizes: when genuine connection to the One is present, there is a quality of peace that has no other source. And when it is interrupted — even briefly — the interruption is felt immediately. The one who has touched this knows exactly what Guru Nanak is saying. The one who has not yet found it can understand why it matters.

Jihvaa jala-o jalaavani, naam na japai rasaa-ay — let the tongue burn that does not chant the Name with rasaa-ay (love, savoring, delight). The passion of the line is notable — Guru Nanak rarely speaks with this kind of heat. The tongue that speaks everything but the Name — that debates, teaches, recites scripture, praises the world's goods — without ever turning to the Name with genuine love: what is it actually for?

Ghat binsai dukh aglo — when the pitcher (body) breaks, terrible pain follows. The ghat (pitcher, vessel) as body is a recurring image: the body holds the water of life. When the pitcher breaks, the water is lost. Death is the breaking of the pitcher. The one who has not prepared (pachhutaa-ay — repents, regrets) is caught by the Minister of Death unprepared. The regret at the end is the weight of the life that was not fully lived.