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Sikhism·Raag Saarang·Shabad 168
Verse 5 of 110

No One Here Is Bad

ਸਲੋਕ ਮਹਲਾ ੨ ॥
salok mehlaa 2.
Shalok, Second Mehl:
ਆਪਿ ਉਪਾਏ ਨਾਨਕਾ ਆਪੇ ਰਖੈ ਵੇਕ ॥
aap upaa-ay naankaa aapay rakhai vayk.
He Himself creates, O Nanak; He establishes the various creatures.
ਮੰਦਾ ਕਿਸ ਨੋ ਆਖੀਐ ਜਾਂ ਸਭਨਾ ਸਾਹਿਬੁ ਏਕੁ ॥
mandaa kis no aakhee-ai jaaN sabhnaa saahib ayk.
How can anyone be called bad? We have only One Lord and Master.
ਸਭਨਾ ਸਾਹਿਬੁ ਏਕੁ ਹੈ ਵੇਖੈ ਧੰਧੈ ਲਾਇ ॥
sabhnaa saahib ayk hai vaykhai DhanDhai laa-ay.
There is One Lord and Master of all; He watches over all, and assigns all to their tasks.
ਕਿਸੈ ਥੋੜਾ ਕਿਸੈ ਅਗਲਾ ਖਾਲੀ ਕੋਈ ਨਾਹਿ ॥
kisai thorhaa kisai aglaa khaalee ko-ee naahi.
Some have less, and some have more; no one is allowed to leave empty.
ਆਵਹਿ ਨੰਗੇ ਜਾਹਿ ਨੰਗੇ ਵਿਚੇ ਕਰਹਿ ਵਿਥਾਰ ॥
aavahi nangay jaahi nangay vichay karahi vithaar.
Naked we come, and naked we go; in between, we put on a show.
ਨਾਨਕ ਹੁਕਮੁ ਨ ਜਾਣੀਐ ਅਗੈ ਕਾਈ ਕਾਰ ॥੧॥
naanak hukam na jaanee-ai agai kaa-ee kaar. ||1||
O Nanak, one who does not understand the Hukam of God's Command - what will he have to do in the world hereafter? ||1||

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa

In plain words

Nanak says: the One makes every single creature and sets each one apart in its own shape. So how could you ever call anyone bad, when the very same One is behind us all?

There is one Source watching over everyone, giving each of us our work to do. Some are handed a little and some a lot, but no one leaves empty-handed. We arrive with nothing and we leave with nothing, and in between we put on quite a show. Nanak says: what matters is learning the flow of existence, the way things work, while we are here.

One Source is behind everyone, so there is no one you can rightly call bad.
The deeper layer

Shalok of the Second Mehl. The question mandaa kis no aakhee-ai — who can be called bad? — flows directly from Oneness: one Saahib stands behind all beings. Naked we come and go, with a show in between. Understanding the Hukam is the task that matters.

A Question to Sit With

Is there someone you have quietly labeled bad — and what changes if you remember one Source is behind them too?

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

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