Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Whatever happens, happens because the One wills it.
By Your Will, one person plays music and sings; by Your Will, another bathes in holy waters.
By Your Will, one smears himself with ashes and blows the horn and the conch as a wandering yogi.
By Your Will, one reads the holy scriptures and is honored as a Muslim teacher.
By Your Will, one becomes a king with every pleasure at his command.
By Your Will, another takes up the sword in battle.
By Your Will, another travels to distant lands and, hearing news of home, comes back again.
By Your Will, a person is tuned to Your Name, and by Your Will, they become dear to You.
Nanak prays just this one prayer; everything else is only pretending.
This verse says every role a person plays, from singer to king, happens within the One's will, so no one has reason to look down on anyone.
It is all about Hukam, the One's will, the way the One makes everything happen. Guru Nanak lists many kinds of people and starts each one the same way: "tuDh bhaavai," when it pleases You. When it pleases You, we play music and sing. When it pleases You, we bathe at holy waters. When it pleases You, someone smears on ashes and blows the horn like a wandering yogi. Someone else reads the holy books of Islam and is honored as a mulaa or saykh, a Muslim teacher. Someone becomes a king with every pleasure. Someone swings a sword in battle. Someone travels far away and, hearing news from home, comes back.
Look how wide that list is. The Hindu yogi and the Muslim teacher stand side by side, both coming from the same one Will. King, soldier, pilgrim, musician: these are the labels people often build pride on, and quarrel over. The verse shows each one isn't a trophy you made yourself. When it pleased the One, you became it. Think of a school play. One kid is the king, one is a tree, one is the narrator. Nobody picked their own part, so nobody should sneer at the tree. How can the teacher of one faith look down on the seeker of another, when each is only what the One willed?
The same Will reaches into the spiritual life too. "Jaa tuDh bhaavai naa-ay rachaaveh tuDh bhaanay tooN bhaaveh" — when it pleases You, we're tuned to the Name, and when it pleases You, we become dear to You. Even turning toward the One is the One's doing.
So what's left for us? One thing. "Naanak ayk kahai baynantee hor saglay koorh kamaaveh" — Nanak offers one prayer; everything else is koorh, falseness. Once every role is seen as the One's gift, the only thing truly ours to give is that humble prayer. Every boast of being this or that is just pretending.
What identity do you take quiet pride in — and how does it change things to see it as something the One willed, not something you achieved alone?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI