Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Maybe you are weak from the pain of hunger and poverty.
There is no money in your pockets, and no one gives you any comfort.
No one meets your hopes, and none of your work gets done.
If you then remember the Supreme Lord God, you shall receive the kingdom that lasts forever.
This one says that even when you have nothing, remembering the One brings something that cannot be taken away.
The second hard time is being poor and hungry. Dublaa nang bhukh kee peer: weak, with the pain of hunger and poverty. Damrhaa palai naa pavai: not a coin in your pocket. And no one gives comfort. Nothing you try works out, and no one answers your hopes. This person is not only poor. They also feel unseen.
Taa nihchal hovai raaj: remember the One, and you gain a kingdom that never ends. Nihchal means steady, never shaking. The verse sets the empty pocket beside this lasting kingdom. It is not a prize to make up for being poor. It is a change inside. The soul that has the One has the source of everything. Being without things is for a while. The lasting kingdom is real.
Guru Arjan is not saying being poor is good, or that hunger does not matter. It matters a great deal. He is speaking to the person in that hard place. He points to something that does not depend on money. The One, remembered even in poverty, brings a peace that poverty cannot touch. Think of a family with little money, laughing together at a small table. There is a kind of riches no one can take.
What is the difference between outer wealth and inner wealth? Is there something you have that no one and nothing can take away?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI