Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
I have no anxiety about dying. And no particular hope about living. Both are held by something larger.
You are the Cherisher of all beings — you keep count of every breath, every morsel of food.
You live within those who are turned toward the truth. As it pleases you, you decide what each one receives.
This shabad is one of the most serene in Siree Raag. The speaker has arrived at a place beyond the ordinary fear of death and the ordinary attachment to life. This is not nihilism or resignation — it is vairāg (dispassion, detachment from outcomes) in its most complete form.
"You keep the account of our breaths and morsels of food" — this level of intimate divine attention to the minutiae of physical life is profound. The divine who created and sustains the cosmos also tracks each individual breath. Nothing is outside the care.
How do you relate to the idea of your own death? Is it something you avoid thinking about, or something you've made some peace with? What would change if you were at peace with it?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI