Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Some say it’s the force behind everything — creation, life, death. Some say it seems impossibly far away. Some say it’s right here, closer than your own breath. Some have studied it their whole lives. Some just feel it.
And the talking never stops. There are always more books, more debates, more opinions. The Giver keeps giving — and people keep taking, and still want more. Age after age, that’s how it goes.
And through all of it, the oneness just is. Unbothered. Unaffected. Quietly present through every argument, every age, every moment of noise — blossoming forth, carefree and untroubled.
This pauri is Guru Nanak at his most inclusive and radical. He is not saying one religion is right and the others are wrong. He is not even saying Sikhi has the full picture. He is saying everyone — scientists, mystics, priests, philosophers — is trying to describe the same indescribable reality, and each is partially right.
Nirankar — formless — is a crucial word here. The oneness has no fixed form. Which means it cannot be owned by any one religion, culture, or tradition. It shows up differently to different people, in different times, in different languages. This is why Guru Nanak traveled to Hindu temples, Muslim mosques, and Buddhist monasteries — not to convert anyone, but because he saw the same oneness being pointed at everywhere.
For your boys growing up in America surrounded by many religions and worldviews — this pauri is a gift. They don't have to choose between their Sikh identity and their curiosity about the world. Guru Nanak himself was curious about everything.
The closing line is worth sitting with: Nanak vigsai vayparvahu — Nanak says, the oneness blossoms forth, carefree and untroubled. While millions argue and debate and claim to know, the oneness itself is utterly unaffected. The songs come and go. The oneness remains, at ease in its own nature.
Have you ever disagreed with a friend about something — music, a game, what's fair — and later realized you were both partly right? How does that feel compared to when one person has to be completely wrong?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI