Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
The Gurmukhs meditate on the Naam. The manmukhs — turned inward to self — do not understand.
The faces of the Gurmukhs are always radiant. The Lord has come to dwell within their minds.
Through intuitive understanding they are at peace. Through intuitive understanding they remain absorbed in the Lord.
This one says that understanding the One comes from which way you are facing, not how smart you are.
Gurmukh naam dhi-aa-ee-ai manmukh boojh na paa-ay: the gurmukh, someone who faces the Guru, remembers the Name. The manmukh, someone who faces only their own "me," doesn't understand. This first contrast frames the whole Ashtapadee, this eight-part song. It isn't clever versus not clever. It isn't knowing versus not knowing. It is about which way you face. In Gurbani, understanding isn't mainly a head thing. It comes from facing the right way. Think of a sunflower. It isn't smarter than other plants. It just turns toward the sun.
Gurmukh sadaa mukh oojlay: the faces of those who face the Guru always shine. Har vasi-aa man aa-ay: the One has come to live in their minds. The shine outside is the sign of the One living inside. When the One settles into the mind, the face shows it. An earlier Ashtapadee said the same thing: the faces of those who face the Guru are beautiful. Here we learn why.
Sehjay hee sukh paa-ee-ai sehjay rahai samaa-ay: through sehaj they find peace, and through sehaj they stay one with the One. Sehaj means natural, easy calm. It's like a calm lake, neither straining nor stuck. Guru Amar Das speaks of sehaj more than any other Guru. It is both the road and where the road ends. You reach it by understanding in that calm way, and then you live in it.
When have you seen someone whose face genuinely radiates something — and what do you think produces that quality in a person?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI