Where is your seat? Where do you live, boy? Where did you come from, and where are you going?
ਨਾਨਕੁ ਬੋਲੈ ਸੁਣਿ ਬੈਰਾਗੀ ਕਿਆ ਤੁਮਾਰਾ ਰਾਹੋ ॥੨॥
naanak bolai sun bairaagee ki-aa tumaaraa raaho. ||2||
Tell us, Nanak - the detached Siddhas wait to hear your reply. What is your path?"||2||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
In plain words
Who are you? What is your name? What is your way, and what are you seeking?
Tell us the truth, we pray; we bow to the humble saints.
Where do you sit? Where do you live, young one? Where did you come from, and where are you going?
Tell us, Nanak. We who have left the world are waiting for your answer. What is your path?
The oldest questions are the simplest: who are you, and where are you going?
The deeper layer
The Siddhas open their questioning, honest and searching rather than hostile; they even call Nanak baalay (young one, boy). These are the oldest existential questions, origin, home, path, and goal, and Nanak will answer every one of them by turning it inward in the verses that follow.
A Question to Sit With
If someone asked you where you live, deep down, what would you say?
