Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
What actions have the happy soul-brides performed?
They obtained the fruit of their pre-ordained destiny.
Casting His Glance of Grace — the Lord united them with Himself.
The question mirrors Pauri7: there we asked what are the signs of the discarded; here we ask what actions the happy soul-brides performed. The answer is structurally surprising: purbali karma — the fruit of their pre-ordained destiny (purbali — previous, pre-ordained; karma — deeds, destiny). What they "did" is described as what they had destined before birth.
Nadar-i kar-ee milaa-ay — the Lord cast His Glance of Grace (nadar-i — the glance of favor, the divine look of grace) and united them (milaa-ay — caused them to merge, brought them together). Nadar is one of the GGS's most important theological words: the grace-glance, the divine gaze that when it falls on a soul, transforms that soul. It is not earned; it is given. The happy soul-brides did not achieve their happiness through superior action — they received the nadar.
This pairing (Pauri7's abandoned brides / Pauri8's happy brides) is one of Guru Nanak's most honest moments: the difference between those who find the Lord and those who don't is not entirely explained by their actions. The nadar falls where it falls. And yet — the nadar is not random or capricious. It falls in the context of purbali karma, the accumulated orientation of the soul. Not a single life's effort but the soul's entire trajectory.
Do you believe that some things in your life were destined — not fatalism, but the sense of a deeper alignment that brought certain things to you? What does that feel like?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI