Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
By a lucky, ready heart, you find the Guru -- when grace opens the door.
Of everything a person could ever try to do, the best is simply to reach for the Name.
It brings a cool, calm quiet deep inside, and a steady peace in the heart.
Then the nectar becomes your food and your clothing. Nanak says: through the Naam comes a quiet greatness.
A Guru Amar Das shalok. Opaavaa sir opaa-o -- "of all efforts, the highest effort" -- names reaching for the Name as the best thing a human can aim at. The image amrit khaanaa painhnaa (the Name as food you eat and clothing you wear) is a favourite of Guru Amar Das: not a virtue practiced occasionally but the very material of daily life. Seetal saant (cool calm) is the felt result -- the settling of an anxious mind.
If you could become good at one inner thing, what would you choose?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI