Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
The wealth of the One is the only truly lasting fortune — though only a rare few really see it.
It comes to the one the Maker chooses to hand it to; it is a gift, not a prize you grab.
When the heart and whole being blossom inside, a person is soaked in the color of the One's love.
Singing the praises in good company, every sorrow is worn away and gone.
That person is the one truly alive — the one who has come to know the One.
The Pauri opens in the language of money — har Dhan sachee raas, "the Lord's wealth is the true capital" — and then quietly overturns how wealth is usually acquired. You don't earn this fortune by cleverness; jis day-ay biDhaataa, "the one the Maker gives it to" receives it. That is grace: received, not seized. The word ma-oli-aa — "blossomed" — is one of Gurbani's favorite images for a heart coming alive: not built or forced, but flowering, the way a plant does when conditions are right. And the closing line sets a high bar for the word "alive": so-ee jeevi-aa jin ik pachhaataa — the one truly living is the one who has recognized the One. Merely breathing isn't the same as being awake.
What's the difference between something you grabbed for yourself and something that was freely given to you? Which one changed you more?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI