ਭਇਆ ਮਨੂਰੁ ਕੰਚਨੁ ਫਿਰਿ ਹੋਵੈ ਜੇ ਗੁਰੁ ਮਿਲੈ ਤਿਨੇਹਾ ॥
bha-i-aa manoor kanchan fir hovai jay gur milai tinayhaa.
What was turned to slag is again transformed into gold, if one meets with the Guru.
ਏਕੁ ਨਾਮੁ ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤੁ ਓਹੁ ਦੇਵੈ ਤਉ ਨਾਨਕ ਤ੍ਰਿਸਟਸਿ ਦੇਹਾ ॥੪॥੩॥
ayk naam amrit oh dayvai ta-o naanak taristas dayhaa. ||4||3||
He blesses the mortal with the Ambrosial Name of the One Lord, and then, O Nanak, the body is held steady. ||4||3||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
What looked like useless, rusted metal can be made into shining gold.
When I meet the Guru, that change becomes possible in me.
The Guru gives the one Naam, sweet as nectar.
Nanak says: then my whole self is steady and at peace.
Nothing in you is scrap; the right heat and care can make it gold.
Manoor (slag, rusted waste) becoming kanchan (gold) is Gurbani's great image of transformation; nothing is written off as garbage. Meeting the Guru, the teaching that lifts you from darkness to light, and receiving the amrit naam is what makes the change. The furnace of the last pauri was leading here all along.
A Question to Sit With
What is something in you that you thought was ruined but could still be transformed?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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