When the Soul-Companion Is with the Body, There Is Happiness
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
While the soul-friend stays with the body, the body lives in joy.
But when the friend gets up and leaves, the body-bride goes back to dust.
This verse says the body is happy and alive because the soul lives inside it.
Guru Arjan calls the soul the body's saathee, its companion. Tichar vaseh suhaylrhee jichar saathee naal — as long as the companion is with it, the body lives in happiness. All its energy, its laughing and running and thinking, comes from that friend inside.
Think of a car. It can be shiny and new. But without a driver, it does not go anywhere. The soul is the driver and the passenger. The body is the car that carries it.
Jaa saathee uthee chali-aa taa Dhan khaakoo raal — when the companion gets up and leaves, the body goes back to the earth it was made from. No relative, however loving, can hold the soul back.
This is Guru Arjan's plain reminder of what matters most. The body is a gift to care for. But the soul is what makes it alive, so the soul is what we should look after first.
What gives your body its aliveness — its energy and vitality? When you're deeply engaged with something meaningful, does your body feel more alive? What does that tell you about the soul-body relationship?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI