ਕਹਤੁ ਨਾਨਕ ਇਹੁ ਜੀਉ ਕਰਮ ਬੰਧੁ ਹੋਈ ॥
kahat naanak ih jee-o karam banDh ho-ee.
Says Nanak, this soul is bound by its actions.
ਬਿਨੁ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਭੇਟੇ ਮੁਕਤਿ ਨ ਹੋਈ ॥੫॥੧॥
bin satgur bhaytay mukat na ho-ee. ||5||1||
Without meeting the True Guru, it is not liberated. ||5||1||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Nanak says: this soul is tied by its own actions, its karma.
Without meeting the True Guru, it is not set free.
Freedom comes from waking up, not from a title — and it's open to everyone.
What we do ties us, and meeting the True Guru sets us free.
Kahat naanak ih jee-o karam bandh ho-ee: Nanak says, this soul is bound by its actions, its karma. Guru Amar Das, like each Guru after Guru Nanak, signs his verses with the name Nanak. Bin satgur bhaytay mukat na ho-ee: without meeting the True Guru, there is no freedom. Birth and caste drop away here; what counts is what you do and whom you turn toward, and that is open to everyone.
A Question to Sit With
What matters more about a person: what they were born as, or what they do?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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