Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
The true teaching breaks the ties that bind me and gently turns me to hold the One's Name.
With my mind resting on what's real and true, the tangle of distress unknots itself, and I come to live in peace. That's what a true teacher is — the great Giver who hands you exactly this.
This one says the True Guru is a Giver who unties the knots inside us.
banDhan torh bolaavai raam — the Guru breaks our bonds and moves us to say the One's Name. Bonds are the ties that keep us stuck, like worry and wanting.
Then man meh laagai saach Dhi-aan — the mind rests on what is true. Saach means true, real. miteh kalays sukhee ho-ay rahee-ai — distress is wiped away, and we live in peace.
Think of a tangled necklace. Pulling hard only makes it worse. Someone patient comes and gently works the knots loose.
aisaa daataa satgur kahee-ai — such is the True Guru, the great daataa, the Giver. This opening names the gift plainly: freedom from what binds us, and a mind settled on what is real. The pause line comes next.
Who has helped untangle something that had you stuck? What did they do?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI