Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
O dear Lord — please protect and keep me in Your Sanctuary. As You keep me, so do I remain.
Through the Word of the Guru's Shabad, the Gurmukh remains dead while yet alive.
And swimming across the terrifying world-ocean — reaches the Other Shore.
This one is a prayer of complete trust: "Keep me safe with You, however You choose."
Har jee-o raakho apunee sarnaa-ee: "Dear Lord, keep me in Your shelter." Sarnaa-ee means refuge, a safe place. Ji-o raakhahi ti-o rahnaa: "as You keep me, so I stay."
The one praying doesn't give instructions about how things should go. Whatever shape Your care takes, that is fine with me. The part of us that always wants to be in charge becomes quiet.
Gur kai sabad jeevat marai: "through the Guru's Word, one dies while still alive." This is not about the body. Our life and body are precious gifts. It means the proud, grabby "me" lets go, like an old skin dropping away, while we go on living fully.
Once that proud "me" is quiet, a lot of fear goes with it. Fear of losing, fear of failing, fear of the end: they had less to hold onto.
Gurmukh bhavjal tarnaa: "the Gurmukh swims across the world-ocean." Bhavjal is the big, scary sea of life. Earlier songs called this crossing terrifying. Here the Gurmukh crosses easily, because the part that was scared of drowning has let go.
What would total surrender look like for you — not giving up, but genuinely releasing the need to control the outcome of something important in your life?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI