Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
You, the true Keeper, are True — and what is true is what pleases You.
Those who praise You with a true heart walk free of the fear of death; it does not crowd them.
Their faces are bright and clear, because the True One is dear to their hearts.
Those who live falsely, with trickery hidden inside, fall behind and carry a heavy sadness.
Living a lie only leads deeper into the lie — but the door back to what is true is always open.
Sach (Truth) stands against koorh (the false, the fake that looks solid but washes off). Jam kankar — the messenger of death — "does not come near": the calm of someone with nothing hidden, walking free of the fear of death. The "bright faces" (mukh dar ujlay) are the ease of an honest heart; the koorhiaar (the false) are people carrying dukh — sadness — because deceit is exhausting to maintain, more than villains to be feared. "The false stay false" is how falsehood works while you stay in it; it is also a place you can always leave.
Have you noticed how tiring it is to keep a secret you shouldn't be keeping? What is it like to just be honest instead?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI