That which the Creator pre-ordained from the very beginning - there can be no escape from that.
ਜਨ ਨਾਨਕ ਨਾਮੁ ਅਰਾਧਿ ਤੂ ਤਿਸੁ ਅਪੜਿ ਕੋ ਨ ਸਕਾਹੀ ॥
jan naanak naam araaDhtoo tis aparh ko na sakaahee.
O servant Nanak, worship and adore the Naam, the Name of the Lord; no one can equal it.
ਨਾਵੈ ਕੀ ਵਡਿਆਈ ਵਡੀ ਹੈ ਨਿਤ ਸਵਾਈ ਚੜੈ ਚੜਾਹੀ ॥੨॥
naavai kee vadi-aa-ee vadee hai nit savaa-ee charhai charhaahee. ||2||
Great is the greatness of His Name; it increases, day by day. ||2||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
In plain words
Those who pull away from the Guru even while the Guru stands right in front of them find no place of rest.
Their own words gain no weight; they wander, restless and unheard.
A heart at war with goodness finds the whole world feels at odds with it — not because the world attacks, but because ill-will can find no peace anywhere.
A hunger that never eases follows those who hide their gratitude and stay closed.
They cannot bear to see the greatness of the Guru, and so they find no ease anywhere.
Better, then, not to let your own heart drift into division and turning-away.
What was set in motion has to play out — but Nanak says: hold the Name in mind, and nothing can equal it.
Great is the greatness of the Name; it only rises, day after day.
A heart turned away from goodness experiences the whole world as against it — while the greatness of the Name only keeps rising.
The deeper layer
When a heart turns away from goodness, the whole world starts to feel against it, and the Name keeps rising all the same.
This Shalok by Guru Ram Das, the fourth Guru, is about turning away from the teacher. It is one of the hardest passages in this song. Its lines pile up harsh pictures of its time: faces spat on, disease, fear that lasts until death, cursing.
Underneath those pictures is a true thing about how people feel inside. Jo satgur fitkay se sabh jagat fitkay: whoever turns from the teacher finds the whole world turning from them. It is not that anyone is attacking. A heart full of ill-will just cannot find peace anywhere. Think of waking up grumpy. Everyone seems annoying that day, but the grumpiness is really inside you.
The prayer jo doojai bhaa-ay chit laahee asks to stay away from minds caught in "the love of the second," the feeling of being split off from the One. Read gently, it is a guide for your own heart: do not let it drift into division. It is not a wish for harm to fall on anyone.
And the verse's own ending is the real point. Naavai kee vadi-aa-ee vadee hai: great is the greatness of the Name, and it keeps rising, day after day. 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.
A Question to Sit With
Why might someone who is full of resentment feel like "everyone is against them," even when no one is?
