Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Without the Name, nothing quite stands still — the world is like a play, wonderful but always changing. So plant true devotion firmly in your heart, and let your real trade, your real work, be the Name.
That trade is boundless and deep; through the teaching, this wealth comes to you.
Real service, real attention, real devotion is this: letting self-importance go quiet from inside.
"I feel slow and unknowing," the heart says — and even so, the true teacher sets its feet on the path. Living toward the teaching, the soul is made beautiful by the word, singing what is good in the One, day and night.
This one says the world is like a play, always moving, so build your life on the Name, which stands still.
Raam naam bin ko thir naahee — without the Name, nothing is thir, steady. Baajee hai sansaaraa — the world is a baajee, a play or a show. This does not mean the world is fake or worthless. It means it is passing, a story in motion. So it cannot be the thing you lean your whole weight on. The Name is steady, so it can hold you. Think of a merry-go-round. It is fun, and you hold on to the pole in the middle, the part that does not spin.
Then comes a picture from the market. Raam naam vaapaaraa — trade in the Name. Vaapaaraa means trade, business. Dhan means wealth. Your real business in life is the Name. And true service means vichahu aap gavaa-ee-ai — letting the self-importance inside go.
The verse says, ham mat heen moorakh mugaDh anDhay — I am senseless, foolish and blind. This is not shame. It is empty hands, the honest place to start, from which the teacher can lift you. Satgur maarag paa-ay — the true Guru sets me on the path. The ending is joy: an-din har gun gaa-ay, singing the One's goodness day and night.
What is something in your life that lasts, that you can lean on even when everything else keeps changing?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI