Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
For a long time I wandered around feeling like something was missing, searching everywhere for one priceless jewel. And no amount of trying and straining could buy it or find it.
Then I learned the secret: the jewel was inside me the whole time, because my own body is a temple where the One lives. The Guru lifted the curtain — and the moment I saw it, my whole heart lit up.
The treasure we search for everywhere was inside us all along.
Ha-o fira-o udaasee mai ik ratan dasaa-i-aa — I wander around sad, looking for one jewel. The verse names it three ways: ratan, heeraa, laal, which mean jewel, diamond and ruby. All three stand for the One within. It is nirmolak, priceless, and milai na upaa-i-aa — no trick or effort can get it.
Then comes the turn: har kaa mandar tis meh laal — the body is the One's temple, and the ruby is inside it. It is like searching the whole house for your glasses while they sit on your head. Gur kholi-aa parh-daa — the Guru pulls back the parh-daa, the curtain of forgetting. Seeing the jewel, the seeker becomes nihaal, lit up with joy.
If your own heart were a room where something precious lived, what do you think you would find when the curtain lifted?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI