Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
I would give myself away — my whole soul — for those made beautiful by the Word. The deathless Name is, always and forever, the giver of peace. And through the Guru's teaching, that Name comes to live right inside the mind, and makes its home there.
This is the Rahao, the "pause" line. It is the center of the song, the thought you keep coming back to. The clearest sign of the One is a real person whose life has been changed by the Word.
Ha-o vaaree jee-o vaaree sabad suhaavani-aa — I give myself, heart and soul, to those made beautiful by the sabad (the Word). This is the language of huge love: "I would give everything." And look at who it is given to. Not just "God" in general. Guru Nanak gives himself to people whom the Word has changed.
Why? Because in a changed person you can actually see the One. Think of a friend who used to lose their temper all the time and has grown patient and kind. You can see something real has happened. The Word at work in a real life is the strongest proof there is. To love such people is to love the One shining through them.
The second line names what the whole song circles around. Amrit naam sadaa sukh-daata — the amrit Name is always the giver of peace. Amrit means nectar, sweet and never spoiling, the drink that gives life. And notice sadaa, "always." Other kinds of peace run out, like a phone battery. This one does not.
Gurmatee man vasaavani-aa — through the Guru's teaching, it comes to live in the mind. The Name is not somewhere you visit now and then. The teaching plants it inside you until it lives there for good.
The next verses talk about ego, being apart from the One, the sleepwalking soul, and the longing bride. As you read them, keep coming back here, just as a singer returns to the pause line. The cure for all of it is the Name making its home in you.
Who is someone whose goodness is so real it makes you believe in goodness itself? What is it about them that convinces you?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI