Savaiye in Praise of Guru Ram Das (Bhatt Mathura), Verse 1 — the Boundless One who lives in the Guru
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
The One is beyond reach, endless, without beginning, the first of all. No one knows where the One begins.
Shiva and Brahma sit in meditation on the One, and the Vedas describe the One again and again.
The One has no form and no hate. There is no one else like the One.
The One can break and build. The One is the boat that carries everyone across.
The One made the world in all its many kinds. Mathura says: my tongue delights in singing of the One.
The True Naam, the Creator, lives in the mind of Guru Ram Das.
The endless One, the True Naam and Creator of all, lives in the mind of Guru Ram Das.
The bard Mathura starts big. The One cannot be reached. It has no end and no beginning, and no one knows where it starts. Shiva and Brahma, great figures of Hindu tradition, sit and meditate on it. The Vedas, old holy books, describe it again and again. These traditions are named with respect, all reaching toward the same One.
Two words sit side by side. Nirankaar means without form. Nirvair means without enemies. The One has no shape and holds no grudge. It makes and unmakes, and it is the boat that carries everyone across.
Then the verse comes close. Saree sat naam kartaa purakh gur raamdaas chitah basai — the True Naam, the Creator, lives in the mind of Guru Ram Das. Think of the sun shining through one clear window into your room. The endless One becomes near enough to meet.
When has something huge and far away suddenly felt close and personal to you?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI