Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
The people who deal in truth are the ones who are truly rich.
They carry a great treasure inside, and their whole life earns them more of it.
When a heart is turned toward the One, grabbiness and anger and greed lose their grip.
They know the One, they trust the One, and they're joyfully full of that love.
They bow to good and holy things and take shelter there, and their hearts brim with gladness.
The ones who keep the Name close are the truly wealthy.
Guru Arjan uses a merchant metaphor he loves: those who "deal in Truth" are pooray saah — the perfect bankers, the truly rich. It reframes wealth entirely: the real fortune is a heart full of the Name, a treasure that "increases day by day" and that no thief can take. Where this treasure grows, kaam krodh lobh — lust, anger, greed — "do not cling." The image is commercial but the point is inward: you can be the richest person alive with empty pockets, if your heart holds what truly lasts. The intoxication of the Lord's love (maataa — drunk on it) is the joy that replaces grabbing. For a child: the truly rich person isn't the one with the most stuff, but the one whose heart is full of good, lasting things.
What are the 'riches' inside a person that no one could ever take away?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI