Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
There is only One. And the One is found by the True Guru's grace — a gift that is always here, waiting for an open heart.
This is not an age that remembers the true way of union and honest living.
When even the places of worship lose their sincerity, the whole world loses its footing.
Guru Nanak looks at his own times and sees a world that has lost its sincerity — even in its holy places.
Kaal naahee jog naahee naahee sat kaa dhab: this is not a time when people know the way of jog (union with the One) or the way of truth. Thaansat jag bharisat ho-ay — even the places of worship have grown insincere — doobtaa iv jag, and so the world is sinking. Picture a boat whose crew has stopped bailing out the water. Nothing dramatic happens at first. It just sits lower and lower.
This is a hard look at the world, but it is not meant to frighten anyone. The cure is named in the very next line, and it is close at hand.
What makes a place feel special, more than how it looks?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI