ਸਲੋਕੁ ਮਃ ੧ ॥
salok mehlaa 1.
Shalok, First Mehl:
ਨਾ ਮੈਲਾ ਨਾ ਧੁੰਧਲਾ ਨਾ ਭਗਵਾ ਨਾ ਕਚੁ ॥
naa mailaa naa DhunDhlaa naa bhagvaa naa kach.
Neither dirty, nor dull, nor saffron, nor any color that fades.
ਨਾਨਕ ਲਾਲੋ ਲਾਲੁ ਹੈ ਸਚੈ ਰਤਾ ਸਚੁ ॥੧॥
naanak laalo laal hai sachai rataa sach. ||1||
O Nanak, crimson - deep crimson is the color of one who is imbued with the True Lord. ||1||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Not a dull, dirty shade, not a color that washes out in the first rain.
Nanak says: the heart soaked in the True One takes on a deep, glowing crimson.
It is the color of love that holds fast, the shade that does not fade.
Love at its deepest is a fast color that does not wash out.
A shalok of the First Mehl. Colors that fade (saffron, cheap dye) stand for shallow, temporary devotion; the 'deep crimson' (laalo laal, crimson upon crimson) is the mark of a heart permanently colored by love of the True One. This links to the earlier image of being dyed in the One's color.
A Question to Sit With
What is a love in your life that has not faded with time?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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