Salok Sehskritee, Salok 39 — Only the Naam Is Hard to Find
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Wealth and good looks are not so hard to get. Paradise and a royal throne are not so hard to get.
Fine foods and treats are not so hard to get. Beautiful clothes are not so hard to get.
Children, friends, brothers, sisters and relatives are not so hard to get. The joys of married life are not so hard to get.
Knowledge and learning are not so hard to get. Being clever and tricky is not so hard to get.
Only the Naam of the One is hard to find. Nanak says: it is found in the Sangat, by the One's grace.
Almost everything people chase can be gotten; the Naam is the one thing that comes only as a gift.
Nach durlabha means "not hard to get." The list is long: wealth, beauty, paradise, power, fine food, clothes, family, pleasure, learning and cleverness. People chase all of it, and often catch it.
Then comes the one exception: durlabha ayk bhagvaan naamah, only the Naam of the One is hard to find. It is not won by effort. It comes by grace, in the Sangat. The thing worth most is the thing you cannot grab, only receive.
What is something you have wanted and worked for? What might be even more valuable, that comes only as a gift?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI