Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Dear One — a person is born, and dies, and keeps coming and going; without the teaching there is no release.
But those who turn to face the teaching are tuned to the Name, and through it find freedom and honor.
The Ashtapadee opens on the weary cycle — "born, and then dies... coming and going" — the picture of a life going in circles, repeating the same unmet patterns. The exit is the Gurmukh's: turning to face the teaching, becoming "attuned to the Naam." And the fruit is doubled — "salvation and honor": both inner freedom and a restored dignity. The circling is not broken by more effort within the circle but by turning to face something outside it.
What loop do you keep circling? What would 'turning to face' something new look like?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI