Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
By Grace this body is healthy and golden - so tune your heart to the Loving One.
By Grace your dignity stays intact - singing thanks, you find peace.
By Grace your gaps get covered before you even see them. By Grace no one can stand against you - so remember, with every single breath.
By Grace you received this rare human body at all. Nanak says: worship the One with devotion.
Thank the One also for the troubles that never happened, and for this precious human life.
Two lines here are worth a lifetime each. The first: jih parsaad tayray sagal chhidar dhaakay — by grace, all your gaps are covered. These are the mistakes that did not happen, the accidents that missed you, the weak spots quietly made up for. We usually count only the good things we can see. We forget the hidden safety net.
Think of a tightrope walker. The crowd sees the walk. Few notice the net underneath that was there the whole time.
The second: jih parsaad paa-ee durlabh dayh — by grace you got this rare human body. In Gurbani, being born human is the rarest gift. It is the one life in which you can remember the One on purpose. So the body is not something in the way of a spiritual life. It is the tool for it. A shabad in Raag Aasaa says the same thing: the human body is your chance.
And the rhythm of remembering shows up here too: saas saas, with every single breath. Not once an hour, not once a day. The breath itself, already a gift, becomes the beat you keep remembering to.
What almost went wrong in your life but somehow did not? Who do you thank for the near-misses?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI