Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
O Baba — the Lord Allah is Inaccessible and Infinite.
Sacred is His Name, and Sacred is His Place.
He is the True Cherisher.
This one says the One belongs to everyone, whatever name we use.
This is the rahaa-o, the "pause" line, the center of the shabad. Baabaa alhu agam apaar: "O Baba, the Lord Allah is beyond reach and without end." Baba is a warm, respectful way to speak to an elder. Allah is the Arabic name for God, used mostly by Muslims.
Across the Guru Granth Sahib, the One is called by many names: Allah, Har, Raam and more. The Gurus use them side by side on purpose. The One is not owned by any one faith. It is like the sun. People in every country call it by a different word, but it is the same sun, and it shines on everyone.
Paakee naa-ee paak thaa-ay: "sacred is His Name, sacred is His Place." The One is just as far beyond Hindus as beyond Muslims. And the One is just as close to anyone who truly looks.
Does it feel natural or strange to call the divine by different names from different traditions? What does it mean that the divine has many names?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI