Sikhism·Raag Prabhaatee·Raag Parbhaatee, Shabad 49
Verse 2 of 9

The good of a thousand rituals, in one Name

ਖਟੁ ਕਰਮ ਨਾਮੁ ਨਿਰੰਜਨੁ ਸੋਈ ॥
khat karam naam niranjan so-ee.
The merits of the six religious rituals are obtained through the Immaculate Naam.
ਤੂ ਗੁਣ ਸਾਗਰੁ ਅਵਗੁਣ ਮੋਹੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
too gun saagar avgun mohee. ||1|| rahaa-o.
You, O Lord, are the Ocean of virtue; I am so unworthy. ||1||Pause||

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa

In plain words

All the good of the six religious duties is found in the pure Naam.

You are an ocean of goodness; I am full of faults.

Whatever the rituals reach for is already held in the Naam.
The deeper layer

All the good the rituals reach for is found in the pure Naam.

This is the rahaa-o, the "pause" line, the center of the shabad.

khat karam naam niranjan so-ee — the good of the khat karam, the six religious duties priests were expected to keep, is found in the pure Naam. Think of a single key that opens every door in a building. You don't need a separate key for each one.

too gun saagar avgun mohee — You are an ocean of goodness; I am full of faults. This is not putting yourself down. It is like coming to the ocean with empty hands. The focus stays on how huge and good the ocean is.

A Question to Sit With

What is something you already have that you sometimes go searching far away to find?

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

About this shabad →
Use ← → to navigate