Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
In the first age, the village of Truth was full of people.
In the next age, things began to slip away.
In the age after that, half of it was gone.
Now only one leg of Truth is left standing, and the One is shown.
Truth may seem to wear thin over the ages, but the One can still be found today.
In the old Indian way of counting time, there are four great ages, called yugas. The first is golden, when truth was whole. Then comes the silver age, when things began to slip, and the brass age, when half of truth was gone. And now is the age we live in.
The verse pictures truth as standing on legs. In each age it loses one. Now it stands on one leg only.
But Guru Arjan, the fifth Guru, turns this toward hope. Ayk rahi-aa taa ayk dikhaa-i-aa means "only one is left, and so the One is shown." Even now, the One shines through for anyone who looks. Think of a single candle in a dark room. It may be the only light, but you can see it clearly.
Where do you still see goodness shining, even when the world feels rough?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI