Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
The One's beautiful presence settles down and lives in the hearts of those who love it. Without the One, everyone is being robbed — losing what matters most without even noticing. So the awake long, every day, just to be near humble awake people, low as the dust at their feet. The true Name is their only jewelry, the only thing they want to wear.
The middle line is the sharpest in the verse: "vin parmesar sagle muthe" — without the One, everyone is being robbed. The word "muthe" means cheated, plundered, robbed. It's a startling image. We usually think of being robbed as something dramatic — a thief breaking in. But Guru Arjan means a quieter, more dangerous robbery: a life spent chasing the false gifts of verse one is a life being robbed in slow motion. Your days, your attention, your one precious life are being drained away on things that fade, and the theft is so gradual you don't even notice it happening. The thief isn't a person; it's forgetting. Every hour spent forgetting the One is an hour quietly stolen.
Against this, the verse offers two protections. First, "charan kamal bhagtaan man vuthe" — the One's presence lives in the hearts of those who love it. When the One has moved into your heart, there's a guard at the door; the slow robbery can't keep draining you, because what matters most is now held safely inside. Second, "sant janaan kee dhoorh nit baanchheh" — the awake long for the dust of the feet of humble people. This humility (wanting to be low, near the good and the wise) is itself protection, because it keeps you in the sat sangat that reminds you, again and again, not to be robbed.
The closing image is one we've met before in this section and it's worth treasuring: "naam sache kaa gahnaa" — the true Name is the only ornament, the only jewelry. The whole world dresses itself up in status, brands, achievements, trying to feel valuable. The awake soul says: I don't need any of that to feel worthy. The naam is my decoration. And unlike jewelry, it can't be stolen, can't tarnish, can't go out of style. It's the one ornament the thief of forgetting can never carry off — if you keep wearing it, by remembering.
Time and attention can be "stolen" so slowly we don't notice. Where do you suspect yours is quietly leaking away — and what would it mean to guard it?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI