Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Only by grace is it received — you cannot take it by your own effort.
Stay close to the Guru's feet, and erase the self from within.
Attuned to Truth, you receive the True One.
Karam milai taa paa-ee-ai, aap na la-i-aa jaa-ay — if He grants His Grace, then it is obtained; it cannot be taken by one's own effort. This is the final word on the entire sequence of failed attempts in this ashtapadee: climbing mountains, reading books, wearing robes, bathing in rivers. None of these take the divine. The divine is given. Grace is the final step — and it cannot be demanded or earned, only received.
This does not make practice irrelevant. The Guru's service (Pauri 6) creates the conditions in which grace is received. But the last step is always grace, not effort. The chatrik of Shabad 110 can wait with perfect focus, with all the pools full and the land green — and still she waits for the raindrop of grace. Her waiting is the practice; the drop is grace.
Gur kee charnee lag rahu, vichahu aap gavaa-ay — remain attached to the Guru's Feet, and eradicate the self from within. The Guru's Feet — the fixed point the wandering mind returns to. The same instruction from Shabad 107's opening: when the mind is confused and wandering, come back to this. And eliminate the self — the ego that climbed mountains, wore robes, read books, plundered itself with pride.
Sachay saytee rateea, sacho palai paa-ay — attuned to Truth (rateea — colored by, dyed in), you receive the True One. When the self has been erased and the soul is attuned to Truth, what arrives is the Truth itself. The dye of Truth is permanent. Once colored by it, you receive the True One you have been seeking.
Where in your life are you working hard at something that might need to be received rather than achieved?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI