Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
I have come to Your Sanctuary.
The five farm-hands have become my tenants — none dare to raise their heads against me.
O Nanak — my village is populous and prosperous.
Teri sharan-i, panj-u haar kameen-aa, sar daynday ko-ee — in Your Sanctuary (teri sharan-i — Your shelter, Your protection), the five (panj-u) have become my farm-laborers (kameen-aa — hired workers, tenant farmers) who bow their heads (haar — heads down, defeated) and dare not raise them (sar daynday ko-ee — no one dares). The five vices, formerly masters, are now tenants who work the land under the soul's direction. Not absent — the passions are still there — but reversed in the hierarchy.
Nagar-u vasai-aa, rahi-aa bhar-poor-i — the village is populated (vasai-aa — settled, inhabited) and remains full (rahi-aa bhar-poor-i — remained fully filled). A prosperous, full village: this is the metaphor for the soul whose passions have been brought under the Lord's authority. The village is not empty (giving everything up, holding everything down) — it is full. The farm-hands are doing their work. The Five are employed, not absent.
Nanak sharn-i aai-aa, sach dar-baari Kart-aar kee — Nanak has come into the Sanctuary (sharn-i aai-aa) of the True Court (sach dar-baari) of the Creator (Kart-aar kee). The sanctuary is the divine Court — the soul has fled to the Guru's protection and found itself in the divine Court itself. The court of the Creator is the final place of sanctuary.
What does it mean to have your impulses and passions working for you rather than against you — employed rather than in charge? What would that feel like?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI