Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Does anyone really know who our true friend is in this world?
Only the one the One touches with kindness understands — and their whole way of living becomes clean and clear.
This part asks a big question: who is your real friend, the one who will be there all the way to the end?
Ko-ee jaanai kavan eehaa jag meet — does anyone know who our friend is in this world? Guru Arjan opens with it, and the whole shabad answers by crossing things off. One by one, it rules out things that seem like support but can't go the whole way.
This is the "Pause" line (rahaa-o), the center of the shabad. It carries a quiet promise. Only the one touched by the One's kindness understands this. And taa kee nirmal reet — their way of living becomes clean and clear.
Seeing who your true friend is changes how you live. Once you know what really lasts, you stop betting everything on what doesn't. Think of choosing which friend to call when something big happens. Knowing that answer steadies you. The question isn't gloomy. It is clearing, the start of a wiser life.
Who or what do you count on most? Is it something that will really be there for you all the way through?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI