Out of everything the world offers to learn, I recognize only one thing, Your One Name, and I ask it to be the friend that walks with me to the very end.
The Arc
Guru Nanak opens his Raamkalee not with a technique but with a bowed head, and moves from honest not-knowing to the one thing worth keeping.
Verse 1 (P0): many read scriptures and turn their beads; I recognize only Your One Name.
The Rahau (P1): I do not know my condition; empty-handed, I step into Your shelter.
Verse 2 (P2): the soul swings high and low, restless whenever wanting runs it.
Verse 3 (P3): we gather a whole life; others have gone ahead; my time is precious.
Verse 4 (P4): worldly ties cannot cross the last step, but the Name is the companion that stays.
Key Vocabulary
sehsaakirtaa — the Sanskrit scriptures; puraanaa — the Puraanas.
japmaalee — the rosary or mala used in remembrance.
gate / gat — one's condition or spiritual state.
jeearhaa — the tender little soul; lobhee — driven by wanting.
sakhaai — companion, the help that stays.
Themes and Cross-Connections
The hymn re-orders the heart's supports without scorning any of them: reading, reciting, and family are all real and dear, but only the Name is named as what endures. This is the Naam of the wider philosophy, the living presence the soul carries forward when everything else is set down.
For Raag Raamkalee
As the first of Guru Nanak's Raamkalee hymns, this sets the raag's tone. Raamkalee is the mode of the wandering yogis, yet it opens not with renunciation or power but with humility and the One Name, quietly signalling that everything to follow will be measured inward.
Translation Notes
Memento mori softened (P3): the approaching bhaahi (fire) is rendered as the gentle awareness that time is precious, dropping the frightening image per wellbeing rules.
Self-abasement to empty-handedness (P1):moorakh agiaan (foolish, ignorant) rendered as coming with empty hands and a still-learning heart, not self-attack.
Bleak line bent to hope (P4):na kisee kaa meet rendered so that loved ones are honored, with the Name named as the companion that crosses the final threshold.
Recitation and study (P0) are kept positive, never framed as empty ritual.
Out of everything the world offers to learn, I recognize only one thing, Your One Name, and I ask it to be the friend that walks with me to the very end.
The Arc
Guru Nanak opens his Raamkalee not with a technique but with a bowed head, and moves from honest not-knowing to the one thing worth keeping.
Key Vocabulary
Themes and Cross-Connections
The hymn re-orders the heart's supports without scorning any of them: reading, reciting, and family are all real and dear, but only the Name is named as what endures. This is the Naam of the wider philosophy, the living presence the soul carries forward when everything else is set down.
For Raag Raamkalee
As the first of Guru Nanak's Raamkalee hymns, this sets the raag's tone. Raamkalee is the mode of the wandering yogis, yet it opens not with renunciation or power but with humility and the One Name, quietly signalling that everything to follow will be measured inward.
Translation Notes
Last updated: 2026-07-09