Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
With one kind look, the One made its servant beautiful — polished them up like something cared for and loved. And then that servant bows, because they finally see the One living deep inside every single heart. There is nothing but the One; there's no "second." Baba Nanak says: of all the things you could ever understand, this is the very best.
The verse opens with a gesture of pure grace: "darisat dhaar apnaa daas savaaria" — with a single glance, the One adorned its servant. The word "savaaria" means decorated, beautified, set right. You don't make yourself beautiful before the One will look at you; the One's look itself is what makes you beautiful. Gurprasad again — the grace comes first, and the transformation follows from being seen with love. Think of how a child stands taller, glows, becomes their best self simply under the gaze of someone who truly delights in them. That's the picture here.
And what does the beautified soul do next? "Ghat ghat antar paarbarahm namaskaaria" — bows to the One deep within every heart. This is the practical fruit of Ik Onkar and it's the most important thing in the verse. Having been graced themselves, they now look around and see the same One living inside everyone — and so they bow, inwardly, to every person they meet. Not because everyone behaves well, but because the same light that was just kindled in them is in all of them. This is how oneness changes how you treat people: you start meeting the One in the cashier, the classmate, the stranger, even the difficult person.
The shabad ends by naming itself: "ikas vin hor doojaa naahee... ih mat saari" — there is nothing but the One, and this is the best wisdom there is. Of all the things a person could learn — all the facts, skills, cleverness — the single most valuable understanding is this: there is only the One, here and hereafter (verse one), inside you and inside everyone (verse four). Every other lesson is a detail. This is the whole curriculum. Guru Arjan addresses it tenderly to "Baba" — as an elder speaking to a beloved younger one, exactly the spirit in which these readings are offered to your boys: here, child, is the one thing worth truly knowing.
If the same light really lives in every heart, including people you find annoying or scary, how might that change the way you treat just one person tomorrow?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI