ਮਃ ੫ ॥
mehlaa 5.
Fifth Mehl:
ਕਿਤੀ ਬੈਹਨ੍ਹ੍ਹਿ ਬੈਹਣੇ ਮੁਚੁ ਵਜਾਇਨਿ ਵਜ ॥
kitee baihniH baihnay much vajaa-in vaj.
Many sit on thrones, to the sounds of musical instruments.
ਨਾਨਕ ਸਚੇ ਨਾਮ ਵਿਣੁ ਕਿਸੈ ਨ ਰਹੀਆ ਲਜ ॥੨॥
naanak sachay naam vin kisai na rahee-aa laj. ||2||
O Nanak, without the True Name, no one's honor is safe. ||2||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Plenty of people sit on thrones to the sound of music.
Nanak says: without the True Name, no one's honor is really safe.
Thrones and fanfare look like secured honor, but the only dignity that can't be stripped away comes from belonging to the One.
A two-line Shalok that punctures the security of status. Thrones and fanfare look like honor secured — but "without the True Name, no one's honor is safe." Worldly position is borrowed and can be taken; the only honor that can't be stripped away comes from belonging to the One. The powerful and the humble are equally exposed if their dignity rests on anything that passes.
A Question to Sit With
Where do you rest your sense of honor? Is it on something that could be taken from you?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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