Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
The one who owns the trees of the forest and the plants of the garden — according to their nature, gives each of them their name.
The flower and the fruit of the Lord's love are obtained by what was arranged before you arrived.
As you plant, so you harvest and eat.
This verse says the One knows every living thing by its true nature, and that what we plant is what we harvest.
Jaa kay rukh birakh aaraa-o — the One owns the trees of the forest and the plants of the garden. Jayhee Dhaat tayhaa tin naa-o — and gives each one a name that fits its nature. Naming here is a way of truly knowing. The One sees each thing as it really is. The Bible has a similar story, where Adam names the animals in the Book of Genesis. Many traditions link naming with knowing.
Ful bhaa-o fal likhi-aa paa-ay — the flower and fruit of the Lord's love come as it was written for us before we arrived. Some thinkers call this "destiny." In Gurbani it does not mean "everything is fixed, so why try." It means that who you are, and where you were born, carry a clue about what you are here to do.
Aap beej aapay hee khaa-ay — as we plant, so we harvest and eat.
Think of a garden. An apple seed grows into an apple tree, not a rose bush. Your nature is your seed. The work is to grow into it well, not to fight it. And the care you give each day is what you will one day eat.
Do you have a sense of what you were 'made for'? Not a job or role, but a quality — something that, when you do it, feels right? What is it?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI