Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
The earth of a grave and the earth shaped by a potter are the same earth in the end.
Every body returns to the ground it came from — and only the One who made it all truly understands the whole mystery.
This is a tender, subtle shalok that gently dissolves a difference people argued over — burial versus cremation. Guru Nanak observes that the clay of the grave becomes the potter's clay — made into pots and bricks — so in the end, all bodies return to the same earth, whatever custom is used. It's not mocking anyone's tradition; it's a peaceful reminder that beneath the different customs, the same truth holds: we all came from the earth and return to it. And it closes in humility: the Creator alone knows — the full mystery of life and death is the One's to understand, not ours to quarrel over. What looks like a big difference between people is small next to the shared truth underneath.
Why might it be wiser to notice what people share than to argue over differences in custom?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI