Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Good is the path my life has taken — good is the karma that led me to walk right up to the feet of the holy and true.
You can bless your whole path by the good it finally led you to.
Kaho naanak bhalaa mayraa karam — says Nanak, my karam is good. Karam (karma) means the actions of a life and where they lead. Here it is called bhalaa, good, because it brought him to saaDhoo kay charan, the feet of the holy.
Nanak looks back at his whole life from this meeting. Whatever brought him here, he blesses it. Think of a long hike with sore feet and wrong turns. Then you reach the view at the top, and every step was worth it.
The shabad gives no theory of karma. One helpful way to hear it: karma here is like a river current that carried him toward the good, not a scoreboard of rewards.
What good thing are you glad your path led you to, even the hard parts?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI