The Keepers of the Treasure

ਮਹਲਾ ੨ ॥

mehlaa 2.

Second Mehl:

ਸਿਫਤਿ ਜਿਨਾ ਕਉ ਬਖਸੀਐ ਸੇਈ ਪੋਤੇਦਾਰ ॥

sifat jinaa ka-o bakhsee-ai say-ee potaydaar.

Those whom the Lord blesses with His Praises, are the true keepers of the treasure.

ਕੁੰਜੀ ਜਿਨ ਕਉ ਦਿਤੀਆ ਤਿਨ੍ਹ੍ਹਾ ਮਿਲੇ ਭੰਡਾਰ ॥

kunjee jin ka-o ditee-aa tin^Haa milay bhandaar.

Those who are blessed with the key - they alone receive the treasure.

ਜਹ ਭੰਡਾਰੀ ਹੂ ਗੁਣ ਨਿਕਲਹਿ ਤੇ ਕੀਅਹਿ ਪਰਵਾਣੁ ॥

jah bhandaaree hoo gun niklahi tay kee-ah parvaan.

That treasure, from which virtue wells up - that treasure is approved.

ਨਦਰਿ ਤਿਨ੍ਹ੍ਹਾ ਕਉ ਨਾਨਕਾ ਨਾਮੁ ਜਿਨ੍ਹ੍ਹਾ ਨੀਸਾਣੁ ॥੨॥

nadar tin^Haa ka-o naankaa naam jin^Haa neesaan. ||2||

Those who are blessed by His Glance of Grace, O Nanak, bear the Insignia of the Naam. ||2||

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa

In plain words

The ones given the gift of praising the One become the true keepers of the treasure. Those handed the key are the ones who get to open the storehouse.

The treasure that counts is the one that keeps sending up goodness — kindness and virtue bubbling out of it. Nanak says: those touched by the One's kind glance carry a special mark, the Naam itself, shining quietly in how they live.

The treasure worth having is the one that keeps sending up goodness.

The deeper layer

Second Mehl. The treasure-keeper (potaydaar) and the key (kunjee) echo the opening image of this Vaar. The approved treasure is the one from which virtue (gun) wells up — inner wealth measured by the goodness it produces. The Name is an insignia (neesaan) of grace.

A Question to Sit With

What good quality bubbles up out of you most naturally?

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI

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