Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
I might be surrounded by lovely company and every charm.
Everything might be decorated to look its best.
Yet without turning toward the One, even that leaves me restless and unfilled.
Every charm and every lovely thing still leaves you restless without the One.
The verse pictures a beautiful wife with lovely eyes. Khorh seegaar karai at pi-aaree — she puts on the sixteen traditional adornments and looks her very best. In Guru Nanak's time, this was a picture of a life full of beauty. The same is true of any lovely company or charm.
Bin jagdees bhajay nit khu-aaree — without remembering the Lord of the universe, there is only restlessness, day after day. The lack is in the seeking. It is not in the person, and not in the beauty. Think of a playlist full of great songs that still cannot quiet a restless heart.
What settles your restlessness in a way that pretty things can’t?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI