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Sikhism·Raag Goojaree·Shabad 57
Verse 16 of 66

Only Resistance Makes the One Feel Far

ਸਲੋਕ ਮਃ ੩ ॥
salok mehlaa 3.
Shalok, Third Mehl:
ਸਭਨਾ ਕਾ ਸਹੁ ਏਕੁ ਹੈ ਸਦ ਹੀ ਰਹੈ ਹਜੂਰਿ ॥
sabhnaa kaa saho ayk hai sad hee rahai hajoor.
There is One Lord God of all; He remains ever-present.
ਨਾਨਕ ਹੁਕਮੁ ਨ ਮੰਨਈ ਤਾ ਘਰ ਹੀ ਅੰਦਰਿ ਦੂਰਿ ॥
naanak hukam na mann-ee taa ghar hee andar door.
O Nanak, if one does not obey the Hukam of the Lord's Command, then within one's own home, the Lord seems far away.
ਹੁਕਮੁ ਭੀ ਤਿਨ੍ਹ੍ਹਾ ਮਨਾਇਸੀ ਜਿਨ੍ਹ੍ਹ ਕਉ ਨਦਰਿ ਕਰੇਇ ॥
hukam bhee tinHaa manaa-isee jinH ka-o nadar karay-i.
They alone obey the Lord's Command, upon whom He casts His Glance of Grace.
ਹੁਕਮੁ ਮੰਨਿ ਸੁਖੁ ਪਾਇਆ ਪ੍ਰੇਮ ਸੁਹਾਗਣਿ ਹੋਇ ॥੧॥
hukam man sukh paa-i-aa paraym suhaagan ho-ay. ||1||
Obeying His Command, one obtains peace, and becomes the happy, loving soul-bride. ||1||

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa

In plain words

There is one One of all, always present.

But refuse its ordering Will, and even inside your own home the One feels far away. Only those it graces obey the Will; obeying, they find peace, and become the glad, loving soul-bride.

The One isn't far — resistance to a wiser Will is the only thing that makes it feel far.
The deeper layer

The Shalok locates distance not in geography but in disobedience: the One is "ever-present," yet "if one does not obey the Hukam, then within one's own home, the Lord seems far away." Nearness is a matter of alignment, not location. The One is right here; resistance to its Will is the only thing that makes it feel distant. Obey, and the One you thought far is found at home.

A Question to Sit With

When something good has felt 'far away,' was it distance, or your own resistance?

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI

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