ਮਃ ੧ ॥
mehlaa 1.
First Mehl:
ਸਾਗਰੁ ਗੁਣੀ ਅਥਾਹੁ ਕਿਨਿ ਹਾਥਾਲਾ ਦੇਖੀਐ ॥
saagar gunee athaahu kin haathaalaa daykhee-ai.
The world-ocean of the three qualities is unfathomably deep; how can its bottom be seen?
ਵਡਾ ਵੇਪਰਵਾਹੁ ਸਤਿਗੁਰੁ ਮਿਲੈ ਤ ਪਾਰਿ ਪਵਾ ॥
vadaa vayparvaahu satgur milai ta paar pavaa.
If I meet with the great, self-sufficient True Guru, then I am carried across.
ਮਝ ਭਰਿ ਦੁਖ ਬਦੁਖ ॥
majh bhar dukh badukh.
This ocean is filled up with pain and suffering.
ਨਾਨਕ ਸਚੇ ਨਾਮ ਬਿਨੁ ਕਿਸੈ ਨ ਲਥੀ ਭੁਖ ॥੩॥
naanak sachay naam bin kisai na lathee bhukh. ||3||
O Nanak, without the True Name, no one's hunger is appeased. ||3||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
The wide sea of the world runs deeper than anyone can measure; who could find its floor?
But meeting the great, self-sufficient Guru, I am carried safely across.
This ocean can be full of ache and struggle. Nanak says: the True Name is what finally satisfies a restless heart.
No matter how deep the sea, the Guru carries you across it.
A shalok of the First Mehl. The 'three qualities' (the ordinary world) form an unfathomable ocean; the Guru carries one across. The ocean's pain is named honestly, and only the True Name appeases the deep hunger.
A Question to Sit With
When you feel out of your depth, what helps carry you through?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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