Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Think about how broken things get joined back together. A cracked piece of metal is welded whole again in the smith's fire. A couple who have drifted apart can be drawn back together by their children. A ruler's demand, once met, settles things. A hungry person eats, and is satisfied — need and fullness reconciled. After a long drought, the rains finally come and fill the streams again.
Love bonds with kind words. Truth bonds you to what is holy. Even goodness can keep a tie unbroken after someone is gone. These are the ties that quietly hold the world together. The foolish heart, sadly, only 'connects' after it's been slapped hard by consequences.
But here is the deepest bond of all — the one Guru Nanak names only after long reflection: praising the One ties your heart, for good, to the One's own home.
This verse lists the ways broken things get joined back together, and says the deepest joining is praise, which ties us to the One.
The key word is gandh, a bond or a knot, a way two things are tied back together. Guru Nanak starts with everyday pictures. "Kaihaa kanchan tutai saar" — bronze, gold or iron breaks. "Agnee gandh paa-ay lohaar" — the metal-smith joins it again in the fire. A husband and wife who have drifted apart can be brought back together by their children. A king's demand is met, and things are settled. "Bhukhi-aa gandh pavai jaa khaa-ay" — the hungry person eats, and is satisfied. After a dry spell, rain fills the streams again. Each picture is something split becoming whole.
Then the bonds turn from things to how we live. "Gandh pareetee mithay bol" — love and sweet words belong together. "Baydaa gandh bolay sach ko-ay" — speaking truth ties you to the holy books. And tenderly: "mu-i-aa gandh naykee sat ho-ay" — through goodness and truth, those who have died stay tied to the living. A good life keeps someone close to the people who loved them, in memory and in the good they left behind. "Ayt gandh vartai sansaar" — these are the bonds that run the world, the quiet web that holds life together.
Then two last lines. First, a sad note about the slowest learner. "Moorakh gandh pavai muhi maar" — the fool connects only after a slap in the face. Some hearts learn only from hard consequences, never from gentle wisdom.
And last, "naanak aakhai ayhu beechaar" — Nanak says this after deep thought. "Siftee gandh pavai darbaar" — through praise, a bond is made with the One's court. Of all the ways broken things are mended, the deepest mending is with the One, and praise is how it happens. Think of a phone that finally reconnects to home WiFi after being out of range. Praise ties the soul back, for good, to the home it came from.
What broken bond in your life is waiting to be rejoined — and what would it take to make the first move toward whole?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI