Sikhism·Raag Malaar·Shabad 13
Verse 4 of 6

Speaking The Unspeakable

ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਸਬਦੀ ਇਹੁ ਮਨੁ ਭੇਦਿਆ ਹਿਰਦੈ ਸਾਚੀ ਬਾਣੀ ॥
satgur sabdee ih man bhaydi-aa hirdai saachee banee.
The Shabad, the Word of the True Guru, has pierced my mind. The True Word of His Bani permeates my heart.
ਮੇਰਾ ਪ੍ਰਭੁ ਅਲਖੁ ਨ ਜਾਈ ਲਖਿਆ ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਅਕਥ ਕਹਾਣੀ ॥
mayraa parabh alakh na jaa-ee lakhi-aa gurmukh akath kahaanee.
My God is Unseen; He cannot be seen. The Gurmukh speaks the Unspoken.
ਆਪੇ ਦਇਆ ਕਰੇ ਸੁਖਦਾਤਾ ਜਪੀਐ ਸਾਰਿੰਗਪਾਣੀ ॥੩॥
aapay da-i-aa karay sukh-daata japee-ai saaringpaanee. ||3||
When the Giver of peace grants His Grace, the mortal being meditates on the Lord, the Life of the Universe. ||3||

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa

In plain words

The True Guru's Word has gone straight through my mind; the True Bani fills my heart.

My Lord is unseen; no eye can see the One. Yet the one who turns to the Guru speaks the story that cannot be spoken.

When the Giver of peace is kind, a person meditates on the Lord, the Life of the universe.

Some truths can be felt and shared even when they cannot quite be spoken.
The deeper layer

The Word goes straight into the heart, and the One who cannot be seen can still be spoken of.

Satgur sabdee ih man bhaydi-aa: the Word pierces the mind, and the True Bani fills the heart. The One is alakh, unseen, yet gurmukh akath kahaanee: the one turned toward the Guru speaks the unspoken story. When the Giver of peace is kind, one meditates on saaringpaanee, the Lord who is the life of the universe.

A Question to Sit With

Have you ever felt something so deeply that words could barely hold it?

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI

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