Anchor in the Deathless and Love Without Clutching
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Keep the Deathless One settled in your mind - and loosen the grip that mistakes people for the ground under you.
Beyond the One there is nothing at all; the One moves through everyone.
All-seeing, all-knowing, deep past sounding - Master of the universe, and a treasury of mercy, compassion, forgiveness.
One longing lives in me: to fall at the feet of those who are truly His.
This one says: rest your life on the One who never dies, and you will love people better.
The first two lines belong together. Abhinaasee parabh man meh raakh — keep the Deathless One in your mind. Maanukh kee too pareet ti-aag — let go of your clinging to people. Read alone, the second line could hurt. Read together, it makes sense. The fifteenth ashtapadee, the song just before this one, taught the same thing about leaning on people.
What you let go of is not love. It is using people as the ground you stand on. Every person will one day leave or change. That is a weight they cannot carry, and they should never be asked to.
Think of someone learning to swim, grabbing their friend so hard that both start to sink. Once they can float on their own, they can hold their friend's hand gently. The one who rests in the Deathless One loves people more, not less. They no longer clutch people like life rafts.
Then the verse lists who the One is. All-seeing. All-knowing. Deeper than any depth. Beyond everything. And it lands on the warm names. Kirpaa niDhaan da-i-aal bakhsand — treasure of mercy, kind, forgiving. The deepest Mystery has a heart, and that heart is kind.
The last line brings all this back home. The longing is to fall at the feet of the holy. In Sukhmani, even the highest ideas always return to good company.
Is there a difference between loving someone and holding onto them for dear life? What does each feel like to the other person?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI