Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
The One needs no food and holds no hatred toward anyone at all. Millions and millions of people bow at its feet. But here is the real thing: the one whose heart, turned toward the light, is truly filled with the One — *that* person is the true devotee, the one who is wholly given over.
The praises continue, but two qualities stand out as quietly important. Nirhaaree — "needing no food," self-sufficient, depending on nothing. And nirvairaa — "without enmity, free of hate." This second one is a cornerstone of the whole Sikh understanding of the divine (it appears in the Mool Mantar itself): the One holds no hatred toward anyone. There is no being the One is against. If the source of all is without enmity, then enmity is never sanctioned by the divine — a profound ethical foundation. The One we are asked to become like is the One who hates no one.
Kot janaa jaa ke poojeh pairaa — "millions worship its feet." The One is adored by countless beings. But the verse immediately distinguishes mere worship from real devotion. Gurmukh hirdai jaa kai har har, soee bhagat ikaatee — "the one whose heart, as gurmukh, is filled with the One — that one is the true devotee, the ikaatee (the wholly devoted, the singular-hearted, the one who has become one with the One)."
This is a crucial distinction. Millions bow; but the true bhagat (devotee) is not measured by the bowing but by whether the One actually lives in the heart. Ikaatee suggests singleness — undivided, one-pointed, merged. The verse gently asks: are you among the millions performing worship, or are you among those whose heart is genuinely filled? The difference is not effort or display; it is the gurmukh orientation that lets the One actually dwell within. Outer devotion is common; the inwardly filled heart is the real thing.
The One is described as holding no hatred toward anyone. If you tried to be a little more like that — free of enmity toward everyone — who would be the hardest person to include?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI