Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Everything joins the song — the ground under you, the deep places, the wide sky, all humming with the One.
Wind and water and fire keep the beat without ever stopping.
The woods and the fields and the whole wide world are quietly singing too.
And a person who turns toward the One with love is welcomed with honor, wherever they truly belong.
The shabad opens out to cosmic scale: dhart pataal aakaas — earth, the netherworlds, and the skies — all "meditate on the Name." Then the elements: pavan paanee baisantar — wind, water, fire — "continually sing the Praises." Then the living landscape: woods, meadows, the whole world, "chanting with their mouths." This is one of Gurbani's grandest moves: the whole of creation is already praising, already in tune; the human task is simply to join a song that is always playing. For a child this is wonder rather than doctrine — the world is not silent stuff but a living choir. The one who joins it "as Gurmukh" is "robed in honor in the Court of the Lord": belonging, not judgment, is the destination.
If the wind and water and trees are 'singing,' what do you think their song sounds like?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI