Sikhism·Raag Nat Naaraayan·Shabad 20
Verse 4 of 9

The Same One Looks Out Through Every Pair of Eyes

ਸਹਸ ਨੇਤ੍ਰ ਨੇਤ੍ਰ ਹੈ ਪ੍ਰਭ ਕਉ ਪ੍ਰਭ ਏਕੋ ਪੁਰਖੁ ਨਿਰਾਰੇ ॥
sahas naytar naytar hai parabh ka-o parabh ayko purakh niraaray.
The thousands of eyes are the eyes of God; the One God, the Primal Being, remains unattached.
ਸਹਸ ਮੂਰਤਿ ਏਕੋ ਪ੍ਰਭੁ ਠਾਕੁਰੁ ਪ੍ਰਭੁ ਏਕੋ ਗੁਰਮਤਿ ਤਾਰੇ ॥੩॥
sahas moorat ayko parabh thaakur parabh ayko gurmat taaray. ||3||
The One God, our Lord and Master, has thousands of forms; God alone, through the Guru's Teachings, saves us. ||3||

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa

In plain words

Every pair of eyes that sees is, in a way, the One looking out — it has countless forms.

The One wears every shape in the world, yet stays perfectly free and itself.

The same One somehow looks out through every pair of eyes and wears every shape in the world.
The deeper layer

A soaring cosmic vision (echoing the famous sahas tav nain passage): "the thousands of eyes are the eyes of God... God has thousands of forms," yet "remains unattached." The One looks out through every pair of eyes and wears every shape — it is in all, yet not trapped by any. It's a child-sized taste of wonder: the same One is somehow behind everyone and everything. For a child: the same One somehow looks out through every pair of eyes and wears every shape in the world.

A Question to Sit With

If the same goodness is behind everyone's eyes, how might you treat people?

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

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