Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
A householder is one who holds back what pulls at them, and asks for meditation, simple living and self-discipline as the gifts they beg for.
They make their own body a gift, giving and helping others. A householder like that is as pure as the water of the Ganges.
Eeshar says: the One is Truth itself. The highest reality has no outline and no form.
Purity is found inside ordinary family life. The grihasti, the householder who masters his passions and gives of himself, is as pure as Ganges water.
This is the first of five verses in which Guru Nanak puts his teaching into the mouths of the Naths' own masters, here Eeshar, a name for Shiva, whom the yogis honored as the first teacher. Many yogis prized leaving home; the verse honors the person who stays and serves. The search itself is respected; only the place where purity is found moves home. The refrain says the One is the embodiment of Truth, formless (nirankaar), and it returns at the close of each verse in this group.
How can everyday life itself be a spiritual practice?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI