an-din naam japahu gursikhahu har kartaa satgur gharee vasaa-ay.
O GurSikhs, chant the Naam, the Name of the Lord, night and day; through the True Guru, the Creator Lord will come to dwell within the home of your inner being.
jan naanak har kaa daas hai har daasan kee har paij rakhaa-ay. ||2||
Servant Nanak is the slave of the Lord; the Lord Himself preserves the honor of His slave. ||2||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
In plain words
The One gives greatness freely, and brings the whole world to honor those it rests upon.
There is only reason to be afraid if we try to do it all by ourselves — the Creator is the one steadily increasing every good thing.
Look, friends: this whole world is the arena of the Beloved True One, whose gentle power brings everyone to bow.
The One shields those who love, and lets ill-will undo only itself.
The greatness of the Guru grows day by day, as the One inspires hearts to sing the Guru's praises.
So hold the Name in mind, night and day, and the Creator will come to dwell in the home of your inner being.
Know that the Guru's word is true, true through and through — the Creator gives it voice.
The One makes the faces of those who love the Guru radiant, and lets the whole world cheer the Guru.
Nanak is a servant of the One, and the One keeps the honor of those who serve.
The only thing to fear is trying to do it all alone; strength is the gentle power that comes to live quietly inside you.
The deeper layer
The world is like a big arena, and what wins there is the One's gentle power, which lives right inside you.
This Shalok by Guru Ram Das has a wonderful picture at its center. Ayhu akhaarhaa har preetam sachay kaa: "this is the arena of the Beloved True One." An akhaarhaa is a wrestling ground. But the strength that wins here is not force. It is a gentle power that brings everyone to bow.
One line speaks of the faces of slanderers being blackened. Its meaning here is that ill-will undoes itself, while the One shields those who love. The weight is on protection, not punishment. If someone is being unkind to you or hurting you, that is never something you have to accept. Telling a grown-up you trust is always the right thing to do.
The sweetest promise sits in the middle. The Creator comes to live in the home of your inner self, gharee vasaa-ay. So the huge arena turns out to be close and personal. Think of a giant stadium full of noise, and then realizing the one you came to see is sitting right beside you. The vast play becomes a Presence living quietly inside.
A Question to Sit With
Why do you think humility — bowing, being gentle — can be a greater strength than force in the long run?
