Salok Sehskritee, Salok 5 — What Stays When Everything Leaves
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
There is only One. Its Name is Truth. It is the Creator of all. It is fearless and full of love, beyond time, never born, shining on its own. And the One is found by the Guru's grace — a gift that is always here, waiting for an open heart.
Who is the mother, and who is the father? Who is the son, and what is the joy of marriage?
Who is the brother, the friend, the companion, the relative? Who is the one so attached to the family?
Who is the one restlessly chasing beauty? It leaves as soon as we look at it.
Only remembering the One stays with us. Nanak says: this is the gift the saints receive, the children of the Undying One.
Family, friends and beauty all pass, and only remembering the One goes along with us.
Here the saloks of Guru Arjan begin. They open with a string of questions: katanch maataa, katanch pitaa, who is mother, who is father? Who is brother, friend, relative? Family is precious. The questions ask which of these ties can stay with us forever. Beauty, chapal mohnee roopan, slips away the moment we see it.
Rahant sang bhagvaan simran: remembering the One stays with us. Nanak calls this the gift found by the saints, the achut tanah, children of the Undying One.
What is something beautiful that you know will not last? How can you enjoy it without gripping it too tightly?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI