fir satgur kee sarnee pavai taa ubrai jaa har har naam Dhi-aavai.
But if he should again take to the Sanctuary of the True Guru, and meditate on the Name of the Lord, Har, Har, then he shall be saved.
ਹਰਿ ਬਾਤਾ ਆਖਿ ਸੁਣਾਏ ਨਾਨਕੁ ਹਰਿ ਕਰਤੇ ਏਵੈ ਭਾਵੈ ॥੧॥
har baataa aakh sunaa-ay naanak har kartay ayvai bhaavai. ||1||
Nanak speaks and proclaims the Lord's Story; as it pleases the Creator, so does he speak. ||1||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
In plain words
Great is the greatness of the True Guru, who holds the Name in mind, night and day.
Keeping the One in mind is the Guru's purity and steadiness, and in the Name the Guru has enough.
The Name is the Guru's strength, standing, and shelter — it keeps the Guru safe.
Whoever gives their heart to the Guru and honors the Guru receives the fruit their heart most wants.
Anyone who turns back to the True Guru's shelter and holds the Name in mind comes through.
Nanak tells the story of the One, and speaks just as the Maker wishes.
Holding the One in mind is strength, shelter, and having enough — a steadiness you can carry night and day.
The deeper layer
The Naam — holding the One in mind — is taan (strength), deebaan (standing, a court to belong to), and rakh (protection). For a child: remembering the One is a source of steadiness and safety. Har naamay hee triptaavai — "in the Name one is satisfied, made full" — reconnects to santokh, contentment: the settled feeling that you have enough. The hard middle lines, about those who slander the True Guru, end on an open door: whoever turns back to the Guru's shelter and holds the Name is saved. The close, ayvai bhaavai — "as the One wishes" — rests authorship in the flow rather than the self.
A Question to Sit With
What is something that makes you feel safe and steady, even on a hard day?
