Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
O my mind, through the words of the teaching I found the real treasure — and that is how I now rest, settled, inside what is true and lasting.
The teaching woke something up inside me. My flickering, restless thinking quieted down. A light dawned from the teaching, and all the darkness inside simply cleared.
Guru Nanak says the Guru's teaching is a treasure that turns on a light inside.
This is the rahaa-o, the "pause" line, the center of the shabad. Gur bachnee nidh paa-ee: through the Guru's words, I found the treasure. And so I stay settled in what is true.
Then the verse moves step by step, like a sunrise. Gur saakhee antar jaagee: the teaching woke up inside me. Chanchal mat tiaagee: my flickering, jumpy thinking let go. Gur saakhee kaa ujee-aaraa: the teaching's light dawned. Miti-aa sagal andh-yaaraa: all the darkness cleared.
Think of a dark room at night. You don't have to fight the dark. You flip the switch, and it is simply gone.
This is suniai and mannai: truly hearing the teaching, then trusting and following it. The darkness here is confusion, not something scary. Light just clears it away.
What is something that, once you understood it, made a lot of confusion clear up at once?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI