Truth Is the Name of All

ਮਃ ੧ ॥

mehlaa 1.

First Mehl:

ਅਖੀ ਪਰਣੈ ਜੇ ਫਿਰਾਂ ਦੇਖਾਂ ਸਭੁ ਆਕਾਰੁ ॥

akhee^N parnai jay firaa^N daykhaa^N sabh aakaar.

If I were to walk around with my eyes wide open, gazing at all the created forms;

ਪੁਛਾ ਗਿਆਨੀ ਪੰਡਿਤਾਂ ਪੁਛਾ ਬੇਦ ਬੀਚਾਰ ॥

puchhaa gi-aanee pandhitaa^N puchhaa bayd beechaar.

I could ask the spiritual teachers and religious scholars, and those who contemplate the Vedas;

ਪੁਛਾ ਦੇਵਾਂ ਮਾਣਸਾਂ ਜੋਧ ਕਰਹਿ ਅਵਤਾਰ ॥

puchhaa dayvaa^N maansaa^N joDh karahi avtaar.

I could ask the gods, mortal men, warriors and divine incarnations;

ਸਿਧ ਸਮਾਧੀ ਸਭਿ ਸੁਣੀ ਜਾਇ ਦੇਖਾਂ ਦਰਬਾਰੁ ॥

siDh samaaDhee sabh sunee jaa-ay daykhaa^N darbaar.

I could consult all the Siddhas in Samaadhi, and go to see the Lord's Court.

ਅਗੈ ਸਚਾ ਸਚਿ ਨਾਇ ਨਿਰਭਉ ਭੈ ਵਿਣੁ ਸਾਰੁ ॥

agai sachaa sach naa-ay nirbha-o bhai vin saar.

Hereafter, Truth is the Name of all; the Fearless Lord has no fear at all.

ਹੋਰ ਕਚੀ ਮਤੀ ਕਚੁ ਪਿਚੁ ਅੰਧਿਆ ਅੰਧੁ ਬੀਚਾਰੁ ॥

hor kachee matee kach pich anDhi-aa anDh beechaar.

False are other intellectualisms, false and shallow; blind are the contemplations of the blind.

ਨਾਨਕ ਕਰਮੀ ਬੰਦਗੀ ਨਦਰਿ ਲੰਘਾਏ ਪਾਰਿ ॥੨॥

naanak karmee bandagee nadar langhaa-ay paar. ||2||

O Nanak, by the karma of good actions, the mortal comes to meditate on the Lord; by His Grace, we are carried across. ||2||

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa

In plain words

Imagine wandering the whole world with your eyes wide open, asking every wise teacher and every scholar, every hero and every deep meditator, what is truest of all. Follow the question as far as it goes.

In the end you arrive at this: Truth is the Naam of all, and the Fearless One holds no fear at all. Cleverness that only argues stays on the surface. Nanak says: when your good actions turn your heart toward the One, grace carries you gently across.

Ask the whole world, and the truest thing is quiet, steady, and unafraid.

The deeper layer

Shalok M1. A sweeping search — scholars, Vedas, gods, warriors, Siddhas in samaadhi, the divine Court — resolves in sach naa-ay, Truth as the Name, and nirbhau (the Fearless One). Karmee bandagee nadar langhaa-ay paar: good action turns the heart, and the crossing itself is grace, received, never earned. Every source of authority is consulted evenhandedly.

A Question to Sit With

What feels like the truest, most solid thing in your own life?

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

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