Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
After wandering and wandering and wandering, I have finally come to Your door.
This is my one prayer: keep me close, and let me serve in love.
After a long time of wandering, the soul arrives at the One's door and asks to be kept close.
This is the salok, a short opening verse. It is a homecoming in two lines. Firat firat parabh aa-i-aa pari-aa ta-o sarnaa-ay — wandering and wandering, O God, I have come into Your shelter. The repeated firat firat, "wandering, wandering," tells a whole life story in two words. Then comes the arrival.
This twentieth ashtapadee, a hymn of eight verses, is Sukhmani's great prayer-hymn. After nineteen hymns of teaching, the voice now speaks almost entirely to the One. It begs, it thanks, and it asks why anyone would forget such a Giver.
Notice what the wanderer asks for at the door. Naanak kee parabh bayntee apnee bhagtee laa-ay — this is Nanak's prayer: join me to Your bhagtee, loving devotion. Not rest. Not a reward. Think of a child coming home from a long trip. They don't ask for presents first. They ask for a hug. The prayer is for more closeness, not more things.
After a long, tiring search, what would you actually ask for if the door finally opened?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI