Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Naam Dayv the printer and Kabir the weaver — they obtained salvation through the Perfect Guru.
Those who know God and recognize His Shabad lose their ego and class consciousness.
Their Banis are sung by the angelic beings — and no one can erase them.
This line says: God does not care what family or trade you were born into. Two humble workers found God, and their songs live forever.
Naamaa chheebaa: Namdev, who printed cloth. Kabeer jolaahaa: Kabir, who wove cloth. Pooray gur tay gat paa-ee: through the Perfect Guru, they found gat, freedom and the highest state.
They were real people, poets of loving devotion called bhagats. In their time, many people looked down on their work and their families. Guru Amar Das names their trades on purpose. The point is plain: where you come from is no barrier.
Barahm kay baytay sabad pachhaaneh: those who know God and recognize His Shabad, His Word, ha-umai jaat gavaa-ee: lose their ha-umai and their jaat. Ha-umai is ego, the proud "me first" voice. Jaat is pride in the group you were born into. Pride in birth is just ego wearing different clothes. Knowing God takes both away.
Sur nar tin kee banee gaavahi: angels and people sing their Bani, their holy songs. Ko-ay na maytai: no one can erase them. Their hymns are in the Guru Granth Sahib today.
Think of a school where the class picks a leader by kindness, not by who has the fanciest shoes. At the Lord's door, birth gives no one a head start, and it holds no one back.
What categories — of class, background, identity — do you think people most use to decide who counts as a real spiritual person, and what does the Guru's teaching say about that?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI