The miserable self-willed manmukhs are forever deluded by doubt; they waste away their lives uselessly.
ਨਾਨਕ ਨਾਮਿ ਰਤੇ ਸੇਈ ਜਨ ਸਮਧੇ ਜਿ ਆਪੇ ਬਖਸਿ ਮਿਲਾਇਆ ॥੧॥
naanak naam ratay say-ee jan samDhay je aapay bakhas milaa-i-aa. ||1||
O Nanak, those who are imbued with the Naam are balanced and poised; forgiving them, the Lord blends them with Himself. ||1||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
In plain words
In this restless age, the one who loves gathers a real treasure, while so much of the world drifts, unsure.
By grace the Name settles in, and it is held in mind through every day and night.
Even in the middle of a messy world, such a heart stays free, letting ego burn quietly away.
Crossing over, it lifts those around it too -- glad is the one who raised such a person.
A steady ease fills the mind, tied to what is real.
Even the great powers of old wandered, tangled in wanting; scholars debated and lost the thread; seekers of every kind missed it without the Guru.
Those led only by their own wants stay lost in doubt, and let their days slip by.
Nanak says: those steeped in the Naam stay balanced -- gathered in by grace.
Cleverness and titles can all wander; one quiet thread -- the Naam -- keeps you steady.
The deeper layer
While so much else wanders, the one thread that holds is the Name.
This is a shalok, a short verse, by Guru Amar Das.
Is jug meh bhagtee har Dhan khati-aa — in this age, the one who loves earns the real treasure of the One. Much of the world wanders in doubt.
By the Guru's grace, the Name comes to live in the mind. Such a person stays free inside, even in a messy world. The Word burns away their ego, the "me first" feeling.
Dhan janaydee maa-i-aa — blessed is the mother who gave birth to such a one. The verse honors the parent warmly.
Then the verse names many who wandered: barahmaa bisan mahaaday-o (Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, great figures of old Indian stories), the pandit (scholars), and the jogee jangam sani-aasee (yogis, wandering pilgrims, and those who give up home life). This is evenhanded. It is aimed at pride and empty show in every group, not at any faith. The puffed-up scholar and the show-off hermit are caught in the same net.
Think of a kite. It can dip and swirl, but it stays safe while its string holds. The Name is that string. It is given by grace, and it holds.
A Question to Sit With
Why do you think being very smart or very religious doesn't automatically make someone wise or kind?
