Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
All of this is described in the Shabads. But only a few actually understand it.
Nanak offers this prayer to the One who pervades the water, the land, and the air.
This line says: the Guru's Word explains all this, but only a few really get it. So Nanak prays to the One who is everywhere.
Sabdaah maahi vakhaanee-ai: it is explained in the Shabads, the Guru's holy songs. The teaching is not hidden. Virlaa ta boojhai ko-ay: but only a rare person truly understands it.
Boojhai means more than hearing or reading. It means really getting it. Seeing that everything changes, and that the One stays, is not so hard to hear. Living like you know it is rare.
Naanak vakhaanai payntee: Nanak offers a payntee, a humble prayer. Jal thal mahee-al so-ay: to the One who is in the jal, water, the thal, land, and the mahee-al, sky.
Fish live in water, people walk on land, birds fly in the air. The One is in all three, in every place where life is.
The prayer asks for nothing special. It is simply turning toward the One. Think of a sunflower turning to face the sun. In the middle of a song about everything that moves on, this line points to the One who has been everywhere all along, and is still here.
What would it mean to actually understand impermanence — not as a concept but as something lived — and how would your days be different?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI