Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
A heart turned toward the teaching grows a clear, discerning kind of wisdom — the ability to tell what truly matters.
It sings the goodness of the One and threads that goodness through itself like a garland worn close.
Such a heart becomes clean and clear all the way through — and whoever it meets, it lifts and carries along.
With the fragrance of the Name settled inside, its words become gentle and true, and everyone who hears feels lighter for it.
A clear, loving heart quietly lifts up everyone it meets.
This Shalok is by Guru Amar Das, the third Guru. It sounds a warm note among the surrounding verses by the fourth and fifth Gurus. It paints the gurmukh, the person facing the teaching.
Such a person has gi-aan bibayk buDh: wisdom, and a clear mind. Bibayk is the skill of telling what is real from what is not. It is the very skill this whole song has been training.
They sing the One's goodness and weave it into the heart like a garland. They become pavit paavan, clean and clear all the way through. And here is the generous line: je os milai tis paar utaaree, "whoever meets them, they carry across." Goodness here is not kept private. It spills over onto everyone nearby.
Then comes a gentle picture: har naam baasnaa samaanee, the fragrance of the Name settles inside. Think of fresh bread baking. The smell fills the whole house. So je purakh sunai so ho-ay nihaal: whoever hears them is gladdened.
After all the hard lines about ill-will, this is the other side. It shows what a good, clear heart gives off.
Who do you know whose presence just makes people around them feel lighter and gladder — and what do you think they carry inside?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI