Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
While the soul-husband lives in the body-house, all greet you. They are kind to you.
But when he gets up and goes, no one asks about you.
This verse says people greet the body with respect only while the soul is living in it.
Here the soul is called the kant, the husband who lives in the house of the body. Jichar vasi-aa kant ghar jee-o jee-o sabh kahaat — while he lives in the house, everyone says "yes, sir, welcome, sir." Jaa uthee chalsee kant-rhaa taa ko-ay na puchhai tayree baat — once he leaves, no one asks about you anymore.
Think of a phone. When it is charged and working, everyone wants to use it. When the battery is gone for good, it sits in a drawer. What made it valued was the power inside.
The song uses a picture from an Indian wedding. A girl lives in her peke, her parents' home, until she marries. Then she goes to her sahure, her husband's family home. In Gurbani, this world is the parents' home, and the Lord's home is where the soul goes next.
So the lesson is to serve the Husband Lord here, while we are still in the parents' home. Our karam (deeds) and our dharam (right living) go with us. This is not about paying for tickets. It is simply that the way we live here shapes who we are when we arrive.
What are you building in your life right now that you hope will follow you — what are you developing in yourself that you want to carry forward?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI