Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
O mind — love the Lord the way a lotus loves the water it floats in.
The waves toss the lotus, but it blossoms anyway, in love.
The creatures that live in the water cannot survive outside it. The water is their life, their world, the only place they can be.
Jaisee jal kamlayhi — as the lotus loves the water. The lotus lives in water, is surrounded by water, and yet rises above it — floating on the surface, rooted below. This is the paradox the image is pointing to: the lotus is in the water, part of the water's world, and yet not drowned by it. The spiritual ideal: be in the world, remain connected to the One, and let love sustain you through the turbulence.
Lahree naal pachhaarhi-ai bhee vigsai asnayhi — tossed about by waves, it still blossoms with love. Vigsai — blossoms. The waves are not benign: pachhaarhi-ai means to be knocked about, thrown around, battered. And still the lotus blooms. The love is not contingent on pleasant circumstances; it blossoms in the waves as much as in the calm. This is the first and perhaps the most accessible of the five metaphors: love that persists through difficulty.
Bin jal maran tinayhi — without water, they die. The creatures of the water cannot live outside their element. The soul without the divine is in exactly this condition: not weakened, not diminished, but dying. The water is not optional for the fish, the lotus, or any creature of the water. Neither is the divine optional for the soul. This is the first statement of what all five metaphors will show from different angles.
What element in your life are you so native to that without it you would wither — and does your relationship with the divine feel anything like that?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI