Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Every joy lives in the hearts of those in whom the One dwells.
Their faces are bright, and everyone comes just to be near them.
Those who hold the Name of the Fearless One in mind have no fear left in them.
They are carried across, together with all their family, and the whole world is lifted along behind them.
Unite Nanak with those who love the One — for seeing them, again and again, is what keeps me alive.
A Shalok of the Fourth Mehl brimming with joy and connection. Two of its lines carry the Vaar's deepest themes. First, jin nirbha-o naam Dhi-aa-i-aa tin ka-o bha-o ko-ee naahi — those who hold the Fearless One lose their own fear; you become like what you hold in mind, and holding fearlessness dissolves fear. Second, the great expansive promise this whole Vaar keeps returning to: o-ay aap taray sabh kutamb si-o, tin pichhai sabh jagat chhadaahi — they cross over "with all their family," and "the whole world is lifted along behind them." Peace is never private here; one settled heart pulls a whole family, then a whole world, across with it. The closing line is pure human warmth: just being near such people, vaykh vaykh ham jeevaahi — "seeing them, seeing them, I live."
Who are the people who make you feel more alive just by being near them? What is it about them?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI