Savaiye in Praise of Guru Amar Das (by the bard Jaalap), Verse 12 — one heart, set on the One
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Guru Amar Das, you read about the One and hold the One in your mind. You know the One and only One.
With your eyes and with your words you dwell on the One. You know no other place to rest.
You know the One in dreams, and the One when awake. You are absorbed in the One.
At seventy-one, you set out toward the One who never wears away.
The One takes hundreds of thousands of forms and cannot be seen. The One can only be described as One.
Jaalap says: O Guru Amar Das, you long for the One, and you trust the One alone.
Guru Amar Das keeps his whole heart on the One, waking and dreaming.
The word ik, One, rings through every line. He reads of the One, holds the One, and recognizes the One (ik kar ik pachhaanio). The One stays with him in dreams and when awake. The verse notes that at seventy-one he set out toward the One who never wears away, a touch from his own life. The One takes countless forms yet cannot be seen, and can only be described as One.
The closing words ik lorheh ik manniao say he longs for the One and trusts the One alone. The bard is Jaalap.
What is one thing that stays with you even in your quietest moments?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI