Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
O soul-bride — without virtue, what happiness can there be?
The Husband Lord enjoys her with pleasure and delight. She is at peace in the love of the True Word of the Shabad.
This one says that real happiness comes from goodness, not from how things look.
This is the rahaa-o, the "pause" line, the center of the shabad. Guru Nanak often pictures the soul as a bride and the One as her beloved husband. It is a picture of closeness and love.
MunDhay gunheenee sukh kayhi: "O bride, without good qualities, what happiness can there be?" Good qualities, or gun, are things like kindness, honesty and patience. They matter more than any decoration.
Just before this, the shabad talked about a dirty mind. Here is the other side. The bride who is happy is the one who loves the True Word, saach sabad. It is not the one who only dresses up. When the heart is good, both sides are glad. The beloved is pleased, and the bride is at peace. Think of a friendship. It grows from how you treat each other, not from the clothes you wear.
What is the relationship between virtue and happiness in your experience? Do you find that living virtuously — even when difficult — tends to produce a specific quality of peace?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI