Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
When we turn away from what is true and good, we tie ourselves into knots and carry our own sorrow.
We keep chasing after things that never quite satisfy, and the worry-sickness of doubt hangs around.
But when grace forgives, we are welcomed back. We are joined again to the Word.
Turning away from the truth ties us in knots, but grace can bring us straight back.
Guru Amar Das names the cost of turning your face away from the teaching. There are tight knots, restlessness, and sahsaa rog, the sickness of doubt. The verse also speaks of being born and dying again and again. That is a picture of going round and round without getting anywhere.
But the last line is where the verse is headed. Naanak nadree bakhas layhi sabday mayl milaahi: if the Kind One forgives, you are joined again with the Word. However far you have wandered, the way back is open. Think of a lost child in a shop, and the moment a parent's hand finds theirs. Doubt here is a sickness to heal, not a wrong to punish.
Why does it help to know that a way back is always open, even after a mistake?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI