Savaiye in Praise of Guru Nanak, Verse 2 — the wise and the devoted sing his praise
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
I sing the praises of the highest Guru, Guru Nanak — an ocean of peace, the one who takes away wrongdoing, a holy pool of the Shabad, the Word.
Deep, steady people, oceans of wisdom, sing of him. Yogis and wandering seekers keep him in their meditation.
Indra sings of him, and devotees like Prahlaad, who know the joy of the soul.
Kal the poet says: I sing the praise of Guru Nanak, who enjoys raaj jog — ruling in the world and joined with the One at the same time.
Guru Nanak is an ocean of peace, sukh saagar, and the one who clears away wrongdoing, durat nivaaran. The wisest and stillest people sing of him.
The singers include Indra, king of the gods in old Indian stories, and Prahlaad, the child devotee who held to the One. These are names a listener of the time would know.
The refrain raaj jog jin maani-o comes back again and again in these verses. Raaj is ruling, life in the world; jog is union with the One. Guru Nanak enjoyed both at once: fully engaged in the world and fully awake inside.
The bard is Kal, one of the bhatts, poets who sang the praise of the Gurus.
Who is someone whose calm makes the people around them calmer?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI