Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Everyone belongs to the One, who lives in and through us all and knows every quiet thing inside our hearts.
The One is closer than close — right here, inside and out — even when we don't notice.
When we forget, the One can seem far away, and our hurried efforts don't get us anywhere.
But turn toward the One with love, and you'll see: it was right here, the whole time.
The shabad opens with one of Gurbani's central truths: sabh tumaaree — tudh laagai — all beings are the One's, permeated by the One, who "knows what they do in their hearts." The key line is bahar antar — the One is with us "inwardly and outwardly," nearer than we know, "but the mortal denies it in his mind." The distance is never on the One's side; it is our forgetting. Doori... manmukh — the One "seems far" to the self-turned, and their efforts "are in vain" precisely because they're reaching outward for what is already inside. The gurmukh "beholds the Lord ever-present" (har hazoor). This is the inward turn stated as plainly as anywhere: nothing needs to be fetched; something needs to be noticed.
Has something you were searching everywhere for ever turned out to be right next to you?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI