Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Nanak says: worthwhile is the arrival of anyone in whose heart the One has come to live.
Empty chatter and idle talk lead nowhere, my friend — it is the heart with room for the One that counts.
A short, clear Shalok. Aa-ay say parvaan — their coming, their birth and presence, is parvaan, "accepted, approved, worth something" — but only through what fills them: jin har vuthaa chit, in whose chit (consciousness) the One has settled. Against that, gaalhee al palaalee-aa kamm na aavahi — chatter that is palaal, empty husk with no grain, "comes to nothing." Talking is fine. Think of a scale. What a life weighs is measured by what it holds, and the One taking up residence inside is the heaviest, realest thing a person can carry.
What is one thing you'd like to make more room for inside yourself this year?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI