Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Soaked in praise, a person is a true free-hearted renunciate, and his life is not thrown away in the gamble.
Listen, Bharthari the yogi, says Nanak: drink the intoxicating nectar of the One.
The truly free-hearted person is soaked in praise on the inside.
A Bairaagee is a renunciate, someone who gives up the world. Guru Nanak says the true one does not have to run from the world. Siftee rataa sad bairaagee — soaked in the One's praises, a person is always free-hearted. Joo-ai janam na haarai — such a person does not lose life in the gamble. Human life is a big chance. Wasting it is like losing everything on one bet.
Think of a kite. It flies free in the sky because it is held by its string.
Then Guru Nanak speaks to Bharthari the yogi again. He does not simply say, "Give up wine." He says drink, but drink the real, joyful Nectar of the One.
What would it mean to feel truly free without having to escape anywhere?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI