Salok Sehskritee, Salok 61 — Beyond Every Picture
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
The One has no conch shell, no spinning discus, no mace, and no dark-blue skin.
The One's form is wonderful and amazing, and the One is never born.
The Vedas say of the One, "Not this, not that."
The Lord of the Universe is high and great, without end.
The undying One lives in the hearts of the saints. Nanak says: those who understand this are very fortunate.
The One is bigger than any picture people make of the One.
The salok lists what the One does not have. No conch shell. No discus. No mace. No dark-blue skin. These are pictures from stories of Vishnu and Krishna, loved by many Hindu families. The verse is not against those stories. It is saying the One is bigger than every image, all of them.
Nayt nayt kathant baydaa — the Vedas, the old holy books, say "not this, not that." Whatever you point to, the One is more.
Think of trying to fit the ocean in a photo. The photo is real, and it shows something true. But it cannot hold the whole sea. And yet this One, too big for any picture, lives quietly in the hearts of good people. Those who know it are very blessed.
Different people picture the divine in different ways. What if all of them are pointing at the same One that is bigger than any picture?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI