Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
**Gobind**, the One who holds the whole universe, is radiant and shining — and so are His soul-swans, the people devoted to Him. Their minds and their words are spotlessly clean; they are my hope, the kind of people I long to be like. Their minds shine, their faces are always beautiful, and they hold the most radiant Name in their awareness.
This verse opens with a name and a picture. The One shines, and so do the people who love the One — like bright white swans.
The name is Gobind, also spelled Govind: "keeper and carer of the universe." Of all the One's names, this one stresses tender care. It is the One who holds and feeds all of creation, like a shepherd caring for the flock. So the song begins with a loving Keeper, not a distant power. Govind oojal oojal hansaa — Gobind is radiant, and radiant are His swans.
The picture is the hansaa, the swan. Indian poetry tells a famous story about it. Give the swan milk mixed with water, and it drinks only the milk, leaving the water behind. The verse doesn't spell that story out, but it made the swan a picture of good judgment. The swan is the awake soul that sorts the real from the fake, and what lasts from what passes. It takes only what feeds it — like choosing the real friendship over the flashy crowd. Guru Amar Das calls devoted people oojal swans: bright, clean souls who can pick the milk of truth out of the watery world of Maya.
Look at the most touching words: mayree mansaa — they are my hope, my heart's wish. The singer isn't standing above these people, describing them. The singer looks up to them and longs to be like them. And why are they so beautiful? Man oojal sadaa mukh soheh — their minds shine, so their faces are always lovely. The glow inside shows on the outside. It doesn't come from anything they put on. It comes from what they hold within: at oojal naam Dhi-aavani-aa — they keep the most radiant Name in mind. Their shine is borrowed from the One they think of. Spend your attention on the shining Gobind, and you start to shine too. Become a swan, and you learn to drink only the milk.
Who are the people you genuinely look up to and want to be like — and what is it about *who they are* (not what they have) that draws you?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI