Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
It is easy to fill life with shiny things — nice clothes, a beautiful home, comforts to play with. It is easy to imagine that these are the sweetness we are after. When we come before the One, we will be asked about it. Chasing only that can leave a bitter feeling inside, a restlessness that grows quietly.
Yet the moment the true sweetness arrives — the Naam settling into your heart — that bitterness simply dissolves, like it was never there. Nanak says the one who turns to the Guru receives it, as a gift to a heart ready for what was always meant for it.
Fancy things are a false sweetness, and the Naam is the true sweetness that takes the bitterness away.
It goes with the shalok just before it. People have fine clothes, colorful furniture, and freshly painted homes. They play with pleasures. They think all this is sweet. Mithaa kar kai kaurhaa khaa-i-aa — thinking it is sweet, they eat what is bitter. That bitterness grows inside like an illness.
Jay fir mithaa payrhai paa-ay — but if the true sweetness comes, the bitterness is gone. The true sweetness is the Naam.
Gurmukh paavai so-ay — the one who turns toward the Guru receives it. Jis no paraapat likhi-aa ho-ay — it comes to the one it was written for. That is about being ready to receive a gift, not about deserving it. Think of eating a whole bag of candy and feeling sick. Then someone brings you a warm home-cooked meal, and you feel well again.
What is a "sweet" thing that lasts, compared to one that feels good but fades fast?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI