Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Are you blind? You are sitting on a collapsing riverbank.
If you are so pre-destined, then act according to the Guru's Teachings.
This one is a wake-up call: the ground under you is washing away.
This is the Rahao, the "pause" line. It is the center of the shabad.
AnDhay too baithaa kanDhee paahi — blind one, you are sitting on the riverbank. The bank is being eaten away by the water below. This is one of Gurbani's sharpest pictures of how nothing stays. Where you sit is not solid. It is crumbling right now.
Think of building a sandcastle right at the water's edge. Every wave takes a little more.
Guru Arjan speaks sharply here. Not softly, not politely. Jay hovee poorab likhi-aa — if it is written for you, if grace has marked you, then act on the Guru's teaching. Even the rescue is a gift. The call is urgent because the bank is falling now.
What in your life is a 'collapsing riverbank' — a situation or structure that is eroding under you but that you're still sitting on? What would it look like to move?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI