ਅਪਨੀ ਗਤਿ ਆਪਿ ਜਾਨੈ ॥
apnee gat aap jaanai.
Only He Himself knows His own state.
ਸੁਣਿ ਸੁਣਿ ਅਵਰ ਵਖਾਨੈ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
sun sun avar vakhaanai. ||1|| rahaa-o.
Others speak of Him only by hearsay. ||1||Pause||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Only the One knows its own state.
Everyone else speaks of it only from what they have heard.
The deepest truths are pointed at, never fully captured in words.
All our words about the infinite are second-hand. They point at something larger than the pointing.
This is the rahaa-o, the "pause" line, the centre of the shabad. Apnee gat aap jaanai — the One alone knows its own state. Sun sun avar vakhaanai: others describe it only by hearsay.
A Question to Sit With
When have words fallen short of something you felt?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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