Sikhism·Raag Bilaaval·Shabad 24
Verse 3 of 5

Silence And Speech, One Source

ਆਪ ਹੀ ਮਸਟਿ ਆਪ ਹੀ ਬੁਲਨਾ ॥
aap hee masat aap hee bulnaa.
He Himself is silent, and He Himself is the speaker.
ਆਪ ਹੀ ਅਛਲੁ ਨ ਜਾਈ ਛਲਨਾ ॥੨॥
aap hee achhal na jaa-ee chhalnaa. ||2||
He Himself is undeceivable; He cannot be deceived. ||2||

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa

In plain words

The quiet and the words that break the quiet — both come from the One.

And the One can never be fooled or tricked. No clever cover-up gets past it, because it is already everything, on every side.

Both the silence and the speaking flow from one source — and nothing can slip past it.
The deeper layer

The One is both the quiet and the talking, and can never be fooled.

Aap hee masat aap hee bulnaa — the One is the silence, and the One is the speaker. Then: aap hee achhal na jaa-ee chhalnaa. Achhal means someone who cannot be tricked.

Why not? To trick someone, you need a hiding place they can't see. Think of playing hide-and-seek with someone who is already in every room. There is nowhere to hide. The One is already on every side, so there is no gap for a trick to slip through.

A Question to Sit With

Why do you think you cannot fool someone who already understands everything about you?

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI

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