ਸਲੋਕ ਮਃ ੫ ॥
salok mehlaa 5.
Shalok, Fifth Mehl:
ਕੋਟਿ ਬਿਘਨ ਤਿਸੁ ਲਾਗਤੇ ਜਿਸ ਨੋ ਵਿਸਰੈ ਨਾਉ ॥
kot bighan tis laagtay jis no visrai naa-o.
Millions of obstacles stand in the way of one who forgets the Name.
ਨਾਨਕ ਅਨਦਿਨੁ ਬਿਲਪਤੇ ਜਿਉ ਸੁੰਞੈ ਘਰਿ ਕਾਉ ॥੧॥
naanak an-din bilpatay ji-o sunjai ghar kaa-o. ||1||
O Nanak, night and day, he croaks like a raven in a deserted house. ||1||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Millions of obstacles block the one who forgets the Name.
Nanak says: night and day, he croaks like a raven in an empty house.
A life cut off from its center meets everything as friction — the warning exists to make the alternative shine.
A stark Shalok on forgetting. To forget the Name is to face "millions of obstacles" — not sent as punishment, but because a life cut off from its center meets everything as friction. The image is bleak and honest: "croaks like a raven in a deserted house" — the harsh, lonely sound of a life emptied of what would fill it. It is a warning drawn not to frighten but to make the alternative (P43) shine.
A Question to Sit With
When you've felt cut off from your center, did everything feel harder? What reconnects you?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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