Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
When a heart turns away and hardens against the One, it grows restless and lost, going round and round without ever settling into peace — never quite meeting the deep truth of things.
Real understanding and stillness come as a gift of mercy, not as something you can add up or earn by counting your good deeds. This clay body will one day return to the earth; that’s simply its nature.
But this is the good news: the ones who live are those who remember the One while they are alive. Nanak says: their light is bright and clear, and it never stays hidden.
The second Nganga Pauri, about the saakat — the one "cut off" from the One. A hardened, turned-away heart is restless and lost, going round and round, unable to settle into peace — a description of a state of mind. The kaachee gaagar — the clay pitcher that "shall surely break" — is a calm fact of nature: the body returns to earth. The weight falls on the luminous turn: jeevat tay jin... simri-aa — "they alone live who remember while alive." Free while you live is one of this raag-region's key gifts, and here it's paired with nah rahat lukaa-i-aa: such a life shines and doesn't stay hidden.
What do you think it means to be “fully alive” while you’re alive, rather than just getting through the days?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI