Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Thirst is quenched with water. A baby is satisfied with its mother's milk.
A lotus cannot live without water. A fish dies without water.
O Nanak, the Gurmukh lives just like this: receiving the Sublime Essence of the Lord, and singing the Lord's Praises.
This one says we need the One the way a fish needs water.
The song ends by answering its big question: how should we live with the One? It gives four pictures of real need.
Agan marai jal paa-ee-ai: thirst goes away with water. Water is not a treat for someone thirsty. It is exactly what they need.
Ji-o baarik dooDhai maa-ay: like a baby happy with its mother's milk. The baby does not study the milk or think about it. It simply drinks and is content. The gurmukh's love for har ras, the sweet taste of the One, is natural and full like that.
Bin jal kamal so naa thee-ai bin jal meen maraa-ay: a lotus cannot live without water, and a fish dies without water. For both, water is their whole world. Take it away and they cannot live. For the gurmukh, the One is not a nice extra. The One is the water they live in.
Jeevaa har gun gaa-ay: "I live by singing the Lord's praises." Singing is not a chore to finish. It is the fish swimming and the lotus drinking. The gurmukh sings because it comes naturally when you receive that sweetness, and in the singing they are free.
What is the element you cannot live without — the thing that, when you are in it, you are fully alive — and how often are you actually in it?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI