Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
When we never turn our attention toward the One, we can end up hurting, unable to see clearly — as if a light we needed was never switched on, inside or out.
The whole world is quietly nourished for the sake of the people who love the One with all their heart. Their love is a blessing that spills over onto everybody.
Those who praise the Guru's Word stay close to the One, woven right into it.
But when we chase after everything except what is real, nothing ever feels like enough — no amount of reading, no pile of things, quiets the restlessness. We can grow tired and still not find peace.
The crying out never stops, and doubt will not leave. Nanak says: without the Naam, a person leaves this world with empty hands.
The whole world is quietly fed because of the people who love the One.
This long verse speaks to the pandit, the learned scholar. It is not against learning. It is against reading holy books with no love in the heart, and that fits any tradition.
The bright center is tin kee barkatee sabh jagat khaa-ay jo ratay har naa-ay. It means the whole world eats because of the blessing of those soaked in the Name. People who love the One are a hidden blessing holding everyone up. Think of the one kind kid in a class who makes the whole room feel safer.
Other lines are harder. They speak of being anDhi-aa, blind inside and out, like a lamp that was never lit. They speak of jalat, burning day and night, a restlessness that no amount of reading can quiet. And the verse ends by saying that without the Name, a person leaves with shame. Its hope is simple: come back to the Name, and the endless wanting can settle.
Who in your life gives out kindness so steadily that everyone around them is a little better off?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI