Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
The best chart to read is the chart of your own mind. It brings the deepest, most peaceful joy.
The good Brahmin is the one who understands the One in quiet reflection, whatever their birth.
Such a person praises the One, reads of the One, and thinks on the Guru's Word.
Their coming into the world is celebrated, and they lift up their whole family too.
Up ahead, no one asks about rank. What counts is living by the Word.
Other reading and other doing are empty when they only feed a love for what harms us.
A heart that goes its own way finds no peace inside, and its life slips away.
Nanak says: those filled with the Naam are lifted up. They love the Guru without end.
The best thing to read is your own mind.
Man kee patree means the chart of the mind, like a star chart people read to learn their future. Reading your own mind brings the deepest joy. Then the verse says who is a good baraahman, a priest or scholar. It is the one who understands the One, barahm beechaar. So goodness comes from understanding and love, not from birth.
Such a person praises the One and thinks on the Guru's Word. Their life is welcome, and it lifts their whole family. Agai jaat na puchhee-ai: up ahead, no one asks about your social rank. What counts is karnee, how you live the Word. Other study and other work are hollow when they only feed a love for harmful things. Those filled with the Name are lifted up.
Think of a spelling bee where the judges do not care whose child you are. Only your spelling counts. This verse puts everyone on equal ground.
What might you discover if you read your own mind as carefully as a book?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI