Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Wake up, forgetful heart - hold the One in your thoughts, always.
Keep the One who made you in your awareness. Nanak says: that One alone stays with you to the end.
Remember the One who made you, because that One stays with you to the end.
The salok, the short opening verse, starts very bluntly. Nirgunee-aar i-aani-aa — you who have no good in you, you who do not understand. It helps to know who is being spoken to. It is not someone else. Guru Arjan aims this line at every human heart, his own too.
The rough words are like a hand shaking someone who is fast asleep. Think of a friend shaking you because the bus is about to leave. It is loud because it cares, not because it looks down on you.
Then comes all of Sukhmani's medicine in one line. Jin kee-aa tis cheet rakh — keep in mind the One who made you. Naanak nibhee naal — that One goes along with you to the end.
This ashtapadee, a song of eight verses, will now hold up a mirror to forgetting to say thank you. Humans have a strange talent. We live on gifts every day and forget the Giver.
Who has done the most for you in your life - and how often do you think of them?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI