Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
The truly spotless person is the one who is *adorned* by the **shabad** — the Word is their beauty. The pure Name wins over their whole mind and body. To the True Name no dirt can ever stick — and so the True One makes their face shine, bright and clear.
The most beautiful thing a person can wear is the Word, worn in the heart. And a heart soaked in the pure Name will not even take a stain.
So nirmal jo sabday sohai — truly spotless is the one made beautiful by the Word. The word sohai means to look beautiful, to be dressed up. We usually think of being dressed up in clothes, jewelry, being popular, or good looks. Those are all decorations on the outside. Guru Amar Das says the real decoration is the Word worn inside. A heart wearing the Word is more beautiful than a body wearing gold.
Nirmal naam man tan mohai — the pure Name charms the whole mind and body. This is a surprise. Usually moh means being charmed in a bad way, pulled in by the shiny world of maa-i-aa. Here the Name does the charming. Another shabad makes the same flip. We are all going to be charmed by something. The only question is what. The fading glitter of things? Or the Name that never fades?
The deepest line promises a kind of protection. Sach naam mal kaday na laagai — no dirt ever sticks to the True Name. Never. The Name is stain-proof. And a person who has truly woven it into themselves, as the last verse said, shares that protection.
Think of the difference between washing a T-shirt and owning a raincoat. The T-shirt gets dirty again by tomorrow. But rain just runs off the raincoat. It is the same with the lotus leaf. Water rolls right off it. A heart soaked in the True Name is like that. The dirt of the world slides away.
And you can see it on the outside. Mukh oojal sach karaavani-aa — the True One makes the face shine, bright and clear. People speak of "an honest face" or "a face that glows." A person who is clean inside, with nothing to hide and nothing sticking to them, has a lightness in their face. Being clean inside shows up as a glow outside. Real beauty, the verse says once more, is an inside job, and it shines right through.
Have you ever noticed how a genuinely kind, honest person seems to have a "glow"? What do you think that glow actually is?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI