The comings and goings in reincarnation are ended for the Gurmukh.
ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਦਰਗਹ ਪਾਵੈ ਮਾਣੁ ॥
gurmukhdargeh paavai maan.
The Gurmukh is honored in the Court of the Lord.
ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਖੋਟੇ ਖਰੇ ਪਛਾਣੁ ॥
gurmukhkhotay kharay pachhaan.
The Gurmukh distinguishes the true from the false.
ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਲਾਗੈ ਸਹਜਿ ਧਿਆਨੁ ॥
gurmukh laagai sahj Dhi-aan.
The Gurmukh focuses his meditation on the celestial Lord.
ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਦਰਗਹ ਸਿਫਤਿ ਸਮਾਇ ॥
gurmukhdargeh sifat samaa-ay.
In the Court of the Lord, the Gurmukh is absorbed in His Praises.
ਨਾਨਕ ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਬੰਧੁ ਨ ਪਾਇ ॥੪੧॥
naanak gurmukh banDh na paa-ay. ||41||
O Nanak, the Gurmukh is not bound by bonds. ||41||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
In plain words
Facing the Guru, the coming and going ends.
Facing the Guru, you are honored in the One's Court.
Facing the Guru, you can tell the fake coin from the true one.
Facing the Guru, your attention rests on the One, calm and easy.
Facing the Guru, you melt into praise in the One's Court.
Nanak says: facing the Guru, no chain can hold you.
Learn to tell the fake from the true, and less and less can trap you.
The deeper layer
Turned toward the Guru, you are free: no more circling, honored in the One's Court, able to tell the fake from the true.
Khotay kharay pachhaan, telling the counterfeit coin from the good one, is the coin-tester's skill. Bandh na paa-ay, no bond holds the gurmukh: freedom comes as the natural fruit of facing the Guru, never as a prize to be won.
A Question to Sit With
How do you tell what is true from what only looks good?
