Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
The Name is the only wealth that stays; all other wealth comes and goes.
Thieves can't steal it, robbers can't take it. It is set into the soul itself, and leaves with the soul. It comes from the perfect teaching; the self-centered never receive it. Blessed, Nanak says, are the traders who came to earn the wealth of the Name.
The Shalok returns to the wealth-that-travels — but adds a new security note: this wealth is "theft-proof" ("thieves cannot steal this wealth") and "embedded in the soul," so it leaves with you, not behind. Ordinary wealth can be stolen or left; this one cannot be taken and does not stay behind. The devotees are "traders" who came to earn precisely this un-stealable treasure.
If you could earn one thing no one could ever steal, what would you want it to be?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI