Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
The learned are asked to give an account of what they have done.
Without the Naam, they are found false, and they struggle and suffer.
Their road turns rough and hard, and their way is blocked.
Through the Word of the True One, who needs nothing from anyone, a person grows content.
The One is deep, so deep, past all measuring. No one can find the bottom.
Without the Guru, people take blow after blow, right in the face, and no one goes free.
Speak the Naam, and you go home with honor.
Know that the One, in the flow of the One's will, gives every bite of food and every breath.
Everyone is asked how they lived, however much they know. The Naam brings you home with honor.
Parhi-aa laykhaydaar laykhaa mangee-ai: even the learned are asked for their account. Without the Naam, the road gets rough and the way is blocked. Sachaa vayparvaahu sabad santokhee-aa: through the Word of the True One, who needs nothing, a person grows content.
The pauri gives a hard picture of life without the Guru: blow after blow, with no way out. Then it opens a door: pat saytee ghar jaahu naam vakhaanee-ai, speak the Naam and go home with honor. The same hukam, the flow of the One's will, gives every bite and every breath.
What would it feel like to be welcomed home, honored for how you lived rather than what you owned?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI