Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Think of how much rests on words. Through the Word the One set up the three worlds; from the Word came the great scriptures and their study, the sacred sounds and all the speeches and explanations people give.
From the Word come the paths that carry us past fear and confusion, and the ways people mark what is right and sacred. Everything you can see and name is woven out of words. And yet, Nanak says, here is the wonder: the One who made all of it stays free, unattached, never caught inside any of it.
Everything we can see and name is woven of words, and the One who made it all stays beyond them.
This is the great Akhar (Word / Letter) Pauri, the heart of an alphabet bani built on letters. Akhar meh tribhavan prabh dhaaray — through the Word the three worlds are upheld; scriptures, naad (sound-current), rituals, and dharam all arise from the Word. Vedas, Shaastras, Simritees and Puraanas are all honored as made of words. The pivotal turn is naanak paarbarahm nirlaypaa — the One remains unattached, beyond the words that point to it: the map is not the territory. Here an alphabet poem pauses to wonder at language itself.
Words can describe almost anything — but what is something so real that no word ever quite captures it?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI