ਬ੍ਰਹਮਾ ਬਿਸਨੁ ਮਹੇਸੁ ਨ ਕੋਈ ॥
barahmaa bisan mahays na ko-ee.
There was no Brahma, Vishnu or Shiva.
ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਦੀਸੈ ਏਕੋ ਸੋਈ ॥
avar na deesai ayko so-ee.
No one was seen, except the One Lord.
ਨਾਰਿ ਪੁਰਖੁ ਨਹੀ ਜਾਤਿ ਨ ਜਨਮਾ ਨਾ ਕੋ ਦੁਖੁ ਸੁਖੁ ਪਾਇਦਾ ॥੪॥
naar purakh nahee jaat na janmaa naa ko dukh sukh paa-idaa. ||4||
There was no female or male, no social class or caste of birth; no one experienced pain or pleasure. ||4||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
There was no Brahma, no Vishnu, no Shiva, none of the great figures from the old stories.
Nothing could be seen except the One, alone.
There was no man and no woman, no high family and no low family, and no one felt pain or pleasure, for there was only the One.
At the very beginning there was no high and no low, and that is how the One sees us.
At the very origin there is no male or female, no high caste or low caste. Since we all begin in the same One, the divisions people build between each other are later inventions. This is one of Guru Nanak's deepest teachings.
A Question to Sit With
If nobody started out high or low, what does that say about how we should treat each other?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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