Keep what is wise close in your thoughts, and you can stand anywhere with nothing to hide; the Word walks beside you, and all beings, the shabad says, become kind.
The Arc
Pauri 0: the complete teacher steps in and steadies you, while facing only the small separate self just makes life heavier. The Rahao (Pauri 1): keep the teacher close in mind, my friend, and your face will be radiant — you will stand unashamed. Pauri 2: keep the teacher's path in your heart, and pain, opposition, and bad luck lose their power. Pauri 3: the teacher's Word is a living companion, and all beings become kind. Pauri 4: when grace was poured out, what felt unfinished became whole.
Key Vocabulary
manmukh: the self-facing person — rendered gently as one who faces only their small self
oojal mukh: a bright face — a clear conscience, nothing to hide
balaa-ay: bad luck — kept mild
sabad sahaa-ee: the Word as companion and helper
pooree paree: 'it fell complete for me' — wholeness arriving as gift
Themes and Cross-Connections
The warm doubled address (guroo guroo... meet hamaaray) gives this shabad an intimate, friend-to-friend tone. The social note in Pauri 3 — the shabad's assurance that all beings turn kind — is a lovely relational teaching; hearing it as a softening heart drawing kindness from others is one reflection, not a mechanism the shabad states. The closing pooree paree (fulfillment as gift, not earned) is pure Gurprasad and echoes Shabad 111 and Shabad 113.
For Raag Gauree
Gauree's steadiness carries the friendly warmth here without tipping into sentimentality — reflective, but personal.
Translation Notes
The literal renders manmukh (Pauri 0) as 'self-willed manmukhs... afflicted with misfortune.' Per the guidelines the added text renders manmukh gently — one who insists on facing only the small self and so carries needless heaviness — not a villain to condemn.
Keep what is wise close in your thoughts, and you can stand anywhere with nothing to hide; the Word walks beside you, and all beings, the shabad says, become kind.
The Arc
Pauri 0: the complete teacher steps in and steadies you, while facing only the small separate self just makes life heavier. The Rahao (Pauri 1): keep the teacher close in mind, my friend, and your face will be radiant — you will stand unashamed. Pauri 2: keep the teacher's path in your heart, and pain, opposition, and bad luck lose their power. Pauri 3: the teacher's Word is a living companion, and all beings become kind. Pauri 4: when grace was poured out, what felt unfinished became whole.
Key Vocabulary
Themes and Cross-Connections
The warm doubled address (guroo guroo... meet hamaaray) gives this shabad an intimate, friend-to-friend tone. The social note in Pauri 3 — the shabad's assurance that all beings turn kind — is a lovely relational teaching; hearing it as a softening heart drawing kindness from others is one reflection, not a mechanism the shabad states. The closing pooree paree (fulfillment as gift, not earned) is pure Gurprasad and echoes Shabad 111 and Shabad 113.
For Raag Gauree
Gauree's steadiness carries the friendly warmth here without tipping into sentimentality — reflective, but personal.
Translation Notes
The literal renders manmukh (Pauri 0) as 'self-willed manmukhs... afflicted with misfortune.' Per the guidelines the added text renders manmukh gently — one who insists on facing only the small self and so carries needless heaviness — not a villain to condemn.