Understanding Opens the Mystery, Not Shrinks It
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
When you begin to know the One, its mystery starts to open up for you — a little at a time, piece by piece.
And something surprising happens. The more you understand, the less it feels like a locked-up secret. Your heart turns from chasing the outside world, and this understanding sinks deep in. Then you touch what cannot be broken and cannot be worn away — the One that lasts forever.
When you begin to know the One, the mystery does not shrink. It opens, a little at a time.
This verse belongs again to the letter of Alah, a name for the One from the Islamic tradition. The word lahantaa means "the one who finds." Alah lahantaa bhayd chhai — the one who finds the One understands its mystery. Bhayd means mystery, or secret. Kachh kachh paa-i-o bhayd — bit by bit, the mystery is received.
Here is the surprise. As you understand it, the mystery melts away. It does not become small. It just stops being a wall. Think of a new classmate who seemed hard to know on the first day. Once you know them, they are no less wonderful. They are just no longer a stranger.
Ulat means turning around, away from surface distractions and inward. Ulat bhayd man baydhi-o — the mind is pierced through by this mystery and comes fully awake. Then it reaches abhang achhayd: what cannot be broken and cannot be pierced. Nothing can damage it.
Gurbani, the Guru's Word, often speaks of this same turn. It is a turn from jhooth, what washes away, toward sach, the real that holds.
When you finally understand something hard, does it feel smaller, or does it feel bigger and more amazing?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI