jan naanak iknaa gur mayl sukhdayvai ik aapay vakh kadhai thagvaalay. ||1||
O servant Nanak, some are united with the Guru; to some, the Lord grants peace, while others - deceitful cheats - suffer in isolation. ||1||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
In plain words
Serving the True Guru is clean and clear work, and it is the clear-hearted who take it up.
Where there is deceit hidden inside, it cannot stay hidden — it separates itself out, the way oil and water never mix.
The honest Sikhs sit close to the True Guru and serve; those who are only pretending find no resting place anywhere they look.
Those who have no love for the One inside — how long can words alone comfort them?
One who meets the True Guru keeps their mind settled in its own place and lives from what is their own.
Nanak says: some are joined to the Guru and given peace; others stay tangled apart until they are ready.
Sincerity and pretending do not mix — the difference sorts itself out on its own, the way oil separates from water.
The deeper layer
Sincere service and pretending cannot mix, like oil and water.
This Shalok is by Guru Ram Das, the fourth Guru. It is about the difference between real service and hollow copying. Sayvaa means service, helping out with a clean heart.
The verse uses harsh pictures from its own time for people who deceive. Underneath them is a simple idea. Deceit cannot blend with honesty. It separates out on its own. Pour oil into water and stir hard. Soon the oil floats back to the top by itself.
No one is pushed out from outside. The person who is pretending just "finds no resting place." Peace has to grow from something real, and pretending grows nothing.
The last line speaks of thagvaalay, cheats who end up alone. They stay tangled apart until they are ready. The door is left open, pointing toward hope.
A Question to Sit With
Why do you think peace has to be built on something real, and can't grow from just going through the motions?
