Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
The one who knows the One is the "learned one," whatever their birth or label. The one who turns toward the Guru and lives with a clean, kind heart is the devoted one.
The brave hero is the one who clears away their own faults — and to such a heart, trouble hardly comes near. We tangle ourselves up in "me, me, me," and then, unseeing, blame everyone else for the knot.
All the clever arguing and debating settles nothing. Nanak says: in the end, only the one the One awakens comes to know.
A clean, kind heart makes a person good, whatever their birth or label.
Babba is a striking caste-and-label-leveling Pauri. Barahm jaanat tay barahmaa — the one who knows God is the Brahmin; baisno tay gurmukh such dharmaa — the true Vaishnav is whoever turns toward the Guru and lives cleanly. The highest religious labels belong to inner quality, whatever the birth. The beeraa (brave warrior) is the one who conquers their own faults (echoing "Nanna"). Baadhi-o... hau hau — bound by "me, me" — and dos dayt aagah... andhaa, "the unseeing blame others" — kept as a gentle mirror, ego as the disease to see, not a crime. The close, jisahi janaavhu so jaanai — only the one the One awakens knows. Knowing is a gift of grace.
When something goes wrong, is it easier to look for who else to blame, or to look at your own part first? Why?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI