From the perfect Guru comes a quiet greatness: the Name settles in on its own, all the treasures turn out to be already home, and the Word is so sweet the old thirst is finally gone.
The Arc
Guru Amar Das receives greatness from the perfect Guru — the Name settles in spontaneously and burns off the ego's grip. He serves the One and wants no other work. The verses build: the one who sees life and death alike loses all fear; every treasure is already home; wherever he looks, the One is there; and by great fortune, finding the perfect Guru, the sweet Word ends the thirst and brings peace to mind and body.
Key Vocabulary
vadi-aa-ee: greatness, glory
achint: spontaneously, without contriving
jagdees: Lord of the universe
samsar: equal, alike
kot niDhaan: millions of treasures
trisan bujhee: the thirst is quenched
Themes and Cross-Connections
Achint naam vasi-aa — the Name settling in unbidden — is the sahaj note again: the deepest things arrive when we stop contriving. Ghar hee meh sabh kot niDhaan (all the treasures are within the home of the self) is the shabad's center, the same inward turn that opened the raag: what we search the world for is already here.
For Raag Bilaaval
Bilaaval's well-being here is trisan bujhee — thirst quenched, mind and body at peace — the settled contentment that is the raag's emotional home.
Translation Notes
The line bahurh na marai naa jam pekhai (SSK: "shall never die again, nor see the Messenger of Death") is rendered for children as losing the fear of death altogether rather than as a terror to be escaped. The gendered pronoun in SSK ("She shall never die") reflects the soul-bride convention and is kept ungendered here.
From the perfect Guru comes a quiet greatness: the Name settles in on its own, all the treasures turn out to be already home, and the Word is so sweet the old thirst is finally gone.
The Arc
Guru Amar Das receives greatness from the perfect Guru — the Name settles in spontaneously and burns off the ego's grip. He serves the One and wants no other work. The verses build: the one who sees life and death alike loses all fear; every treasure is already home; wherever he looks, the One is there; and by great fortune, finding the perfect Guru, the sweet Word ends the thirst and brings peace to mind and body.
Key Vocabulary
Themes and Cross-Connections
Achint naam vasi-aa — the Name settling in unbidden — is the sahaj note again: the deepest things arrive when we stop contriving. Ghar hee meh sabh kot niDhaan (all the treasures are within the home of the self) is the shabad's center, the same inward turn that opened the raag: what we search the world for is already here.
For Raag Bilaaval
Bilaaval's well-being here is trisan bujhee — thirst quenched, mind and body at peace — the settled contentment that is the raag's emotional home.
Translation Notes
The line bahurh na marai naa jam pekhai (SSK: "shall never die again, nor see the Messenger of Death") is rendered for children as losing the fear of death altogether rather than as a terror to be escaped. The gendered pronoun in SSK ("She shall never die") reflects the soul-bride convention and is kept ungendered here.
Last updated: 2026-07-08