Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
The One is our only true Friend; there is no other.
In every place and every gap, in water and on land, it itself fills everything.
Completely pervading water, land and sky, the One is the Great Giver, Master of all.
The One of the universe has no limit; its virtues are endless — how could I count them?
I have hurried to the shelter of the One, bringer of peace; without it there is no other at all.
Nanak prays: the one the One shows mercy to — that one alone receives the Name.
This Chhant verse answers the raag's opening question (Shabad 12, "who is our friend?") in one line: "God is our only True Friend; there is not any other." All the ruling-out of false friends resolves here — the one Friend that lasts is the One, and the reason is given: it "pervades everywhere," water and land and sky, so it is the one companion who is always present, in every place you could ever be. There is no location where your true Friend is absent. And the humble final note: the Name is received by "the one to whom the One shows mercy" — even this friendship is grace, given, not seized. The Friend who is everywhere befriends you by its own mercy.
What would it mean to have a friend who is present in every single place you could ever go? How is that different from any other friendship?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI