ਸਲੋਕੁ ਮਃ ੧ ॥
salok mehlaa 1.
Shalok, First Mehl:
ਮਹਲ ਕੁਚਜੀ ਮੜਵੜੀ ਕਾਲੀ ਮਨਹੁ ਕਸੁਧ ॥
mahal kuchjee marvarhee kaalee manhu kasuDh.
The rude, ill-mannered bride is encased in the body-tomb; she is blackened, and her mind is impure.
ਜੇ ਗੁਣ ਹੋਵਨਿ ਤਾ ਪਿਰੁ ਰਵੈ ਨਾਨਕ ਅਵਗੁਣ ਮੁੰਧ ॥੧॥
jay gun hovan taa pir ravai naanak avgun munDh. ||1||
She can enjoy her Husband Lord, only if she is virtuous. O Nanak, the soul-bride is unworthy, and without virtue. ||1||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
A heart left untended can grow hard and closed, forgetting how to shine.
But a heart that grows kindness and truth becomes fragrant, and can meet the Beloved.
Nanak says: virtue is what makes the soul ready for that meeting, so tend your inner garden with care.
Tend the heart like a garden, and it grows fragrant enough to meet the Beloved.
A shalok of the First Mehl. A heart left untended grows dark and closed, like a house shut up with no light inside. Virtue opens it: when goodness grows there, the heart is ready to meet the Beloved.
A Question to Sit With
What is one kindness you could plant in yourself this week?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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