ਹਰਿ ਆਪੇ ਹਰਿ ਆਪੇ ਪੁਰਖੁ ਨਿਰੰਜਨੁ ਸੋਈ ਰਾਮ ॥
har aapay har aapay purakh niranjan so-ee raam.
The Lord Himself, the Lord Himself, is the Immaculate Almighty Lord God.
ਹਰਿ ਆਪੇ ਹਰਿ ਆਪੇ ਮੇਲੈ ਕਰੈ ਸੋ ਹੋਈ ਰਾਮ ॥
har aapay har aapay maylai karai so ho-ee raam.
The Lord Himself, the Lord Himself, unites us with Himself; that which He does, comes to pass.
ਜੋ ਹਰਿ ਪ੍ਰਭ ਭਾਵੈ ਸੋਈ ਹੋਵੈ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਕਰਣਾ ਜਾਈ ॥
jo har parabh bhaavai so-ee hovai avar na karnaa jaa-ee.
Whatever is pleasing to the Lord God, that alone comes to pass; nothing else can be done.
ਬਹੁਤੁ ਸਿਆਣਪ ਲਇਆ ਨ ਜਾਈ ਕਰਿ ਥਾਕੇ ਸਭਿ ਚਤੁਰਾਈ ॥
bahut si-aanap la-i-aa na jaa-ee kar thaakay sabh chaturaa-ee.
Even by very clever tricks, He cannot be obtained; all have grown weary of practicing cleverness.
ਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ਜਨ ਨਾਨਕ ਦੇਖਿਆ ਮੈ ਹਰਿ ਬਿਨੁ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਕੋਈ ॥
gur parsaad jan naanak daykhi-aa mai har bin avar na ko-ee.
By Guru's Grace, servant Nanak beholds the Lord; without the Lord, I have no other at all.
ਹਰਿ ਆਪੇ ਹਰਿ ਆਪੇ ਪੁਰਖੁ ਨਿਰੰਜਨੁ ਸੋਈ ॥੪॥੨॥
har aapay har aapay purakh niranjan so-ee. ||4||2||
The Lord Himself, the Lord Himself, is the Immaculate Almighty Lord God. ||4||2||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
It all unfolds by the One's own gentle doing.
No clever trick can grab hold of the One — cleverness just wears you out.
By a little grace I see the One — and without it, there's no other I'd lean on.
You can't grab the deepest good by being clever — it comes as a gift, and cleverness just tires you out.
The shabad closes on the aapay/Hukam note: "the Lord Himself unites us with Himself; what He does comes to pass." And the anti-cleverness caution: "even by very clever tricks He cannot be obtained; all have grown weary of cleverness." The colophon (||4||2||) closes. For a child: you can't grab the deepest good by being clever — it comes by grace, and cleverness just tires you out.
A Question to Sit With
When has trying to be clever worn you out — and something simpler worked better?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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