The shabad moves from the One dwelling near the person who leaves others' possessions alone, to Namdev's love for the company of loving hearts, to the warning that forgetting the One within is forgetting our best selves, and finally to the image that a life without the One is incomplete.
Key Vocabulary
Narharee the One, dwelling near the honest heart.
Par dhan, par daaraa others' wealth and others' loved ones, left alone.
Antaraa the inner being out of harmony with the One.
Baalees lakhnaa the thirty-two marks of beauty; even these do not complete a life without the One.
Themes and Cross-Connections
Inner integrity and honest living; the lifting power of good company (sat sangat); the One as the center that makes a whole life shine. Connects to the project theme of truthful living (sach) as the real foundation.
For Raag Bhairao
An early, plain-spoken comp in Namdev's Ghar 1. Bhairao's directness suits its clear moral warmth.
Translation Notes
The refrain, stern in the original toward those who never turn to the One, is rendered positively as being drawn to loving company. The beast-comparison is softened to forgetting one's best self, and the noseless-face image is softened from the grotesque while keeping its teaching that the Name completes a life.
The One abides near the honest, open heart.
The Arc
The shabad moves from the One dwelling near the person who leaves others' possessions alone, to Namdev's love for the company of loving hearts, to the warning that forgetting the One within is forgetting our best selves, and finally to the image that a life without the One is incomplete.
Key Vocabulary
Themes and Cross-Connections
Inner integrity and honest living; the lifting power of good company (sat sangat); the One as the center that makes a whole life shine. Connects to the project theme of truthful living (sach) as the real foundation.
For Raag Bhairao
An early, plain-spoken comp in Namdev's Ghar 1. Bhairao's directness suits its clear moral warmth.
Translation Notes
The refrain, stern in the original toward those who never turn to the One, is rendered positively as being drawn to loving company. The beast-comparison is softened to forgetting one's best self, and the noseless-face image is softened from the grotesque while keeping its teaching that the Name completes a life.