Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Only the One who put the mortal to sleep can wake him again, O Nanak.
And one who understands his true home does not sleep at all.
The hymn's shout — wake up! — meets its own limit here, and the limit is grace. Sleep is not finally self-inflicted, and waking is not finally self-achieved: the One who causes the sleep must cause the waking. This is the upside-down vessel again — you cannot make it rain, but you can turn your cup upright. And the second line gives the woken state its name: understanding your true home. The sleeper dreams this world is the residence; the woken one knows it is the shepherd's pasture, and keeps the true address in mind.
Where is your true home — the one you cannot lose?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI