Salok Vaaraan Te Vadheek (Mehl 1), Salok 16 — Who Is a Brahmin
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
He alone is a Brahmin who knows the One.
He chants and meditates, keeps steady practice and self-control, and does good deeds.
He keeps to the way of gentleness and contentment.
He breaks his chains and becomes free.
Such a Brahmin is worthy of honor and worship.
A person is not holy because of the family they were born into. They become holy by how they live.
In Guru Nanak's time, a Brahmin was a member of the priestly class. People honored Brahmins just for their birth. Here Guru Nanak gives the word a new meaning. so barahman jo bindai barahm — the true Brahmin is the one who knows barahm, the One.
That person does jap, remembering the Naam, and tap, steady practice. They keep sanjam, a mind kept in check. They hold on to seel, gentleness, and santokh, contentment. They break their banDhan, the chains of ego, and become mukat, free.
Think of a school team. The jersey does not make you a player. Showing up and playing well does. In the same way, holiness is not handed out at birth. It is open to anyone, from any family, who lives this way.
Have you ever been treated as more or less important because of something you were simply born into, and how did that feel?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI