Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
There are many ways in. Some people sing. Some listen deeply. Some turn it over quietly in their minds. Some share it with others; some plant it firmly in their own hearts. Any of these can carry you across.
Old mistakes fall away and the heart grows clear. In this life and beyond, the face shines, and the pull of illusion loses its grip.
Whoever holds the One close is the truly aware one, the truly devoted one, the truly wise and truly rich one. That person is the real hero, the truly noble one.
And here is the heart of it: a king, a scholar, a laborer, a trader, someone the world pushed to the very bottom — every single one crosses over by remembering the One. There is no rank the shelter will not reach. I would gladly be the dust at the feet of anyone who has come to know the One.
There are many ways to the One, and every single person, whatever rank the world gives them, is welcome.
This is the last verse of the lunar-days poem. First it opens many doors. Koee gaavai, ko sunai, ko karai beechaar: some sing, some listen, some think it through. Others teach it, or plant it firmly in their own hearts. No one single way is required.
Then the verse sweeps away the whole ladder of castes in one breath. Caste was a system that ranked people by the family they were born into. Khatree, braahman, sood, bais udhrai, simar chandaal: warrior, priest, laborer, trader, and the chandaal. In Guru Arjan's time, the chandaal was the person society ranked lowest and called unclean. Every one of them is carried across by remembering the One.
This is Guru Arjan living Ik Onkar, "there is One," out loud. If there is only oneness, then ranking people above and below each other is make-believe. Think of a school where the doors open to every child, whatever street they live on.
Look too at so baisno: "that one is the true Vaishnav," a devotee of Vishnu. The verse takes a respected name and says the real devotee is whoever truly loves the One.
The poem closes with naanak tiseh ravaal: "Nanak is the dust at their feet." That is humility. Anyone who knows the One is worth bowing to, whatever place the world gave them. The lunar days end not on a holy calendar, but on a shelter with no locked doors.
Have you ever seen someone treated as "less" because of where they came from? What does this verse say about that?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI