Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Truth is not found in suffering, and it is not found in comfort. It is not found in wading through the water the way animals do.
It is not found in shaving your head, in studying the scriptures, or in wandering through far-off lands. It is not found in trees, plants or stones, or in putting your body through harsh trials and pain. It is not found in chaining up elephants or in grazing cows.
Only the One who holds every power can give it, and only the one it is given to receives it.
Nanak says: greatness comes to the one whose heart is filled with the Word.
The One says: every heart is Mine, and I am in every heart. Who can explain this to someone who is confused? Whom I have shown the way, who can confuse? And whom I have left confused from the very beginning, who can show the path?
Truth does not come from hard outer practices. It is a gift, and the One lives in every heart.
He lists many things people tried. Naa sat dukhee-aa naa sat sukhee-aa means "no truth in suffering, no truth in comfort." He goes on: not in shaving the head, not in reading books, not in wandering far lands. Not in living among trees and stones, and not in putting your own body through pain. Not even in chaining elephants or grazing cows.
Think of a student who stays up all night, again and again, to prove how hard they work. Tiredness alone does not make anyone wise. Understanding comes another way.
Jis hath sidh dayvai jay so-ee means "the One who holds all power gives it." Greatness comes to the one whose heart is full of the Sabad, the Word.
Then the most beautiful line. Sabh ghat mayray ha-o sabhnaa andar means "all hearts are Mine, and I am in all hearts." The One lives inside every single person. Once you have been shown this way, nothing can pull you off it. The closing questions place everything, the finding of the way and the losing of it, in the One's hands.
If the One lives in every heart, how might you look at the next person you meet?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI