Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
A true devotee of the divine knows the Benevolent Lord. By the Guru's grace, they are self-realized — they know who they actually are.
They bring their wandering mind back home — to its own home, inside themselves.
They remain dead while yet alive — they've given up the ego while still breathing.
They chant the Lord's Name. This kind of devotee is the most exalted.
Nanak says: they merge into the True One.
True Bhagaautee
Bhagauti (or Bhagaautee) is a term that carries multiple meanings in the GGS. Literally it refers to the divine sword; in devotional use it means the devotee of Bhagavatī (the divine power), or more broadly, genuine devotion to the divine. Here Guru Amar Das describes the true Bhagaautee: not someone who performs devotion externally but someone who has genuine inner realization.
Jo Bhagaautī jāṇai Prabhu, so Gurparsādi āp pachān — "One who knows the Benevolent Lord God is the true devotee of Bhagaautee. By Guru's Grace, he is self-realized." The sequence: know the Lord → be self-realized → by Guru's grace. The self-realization is the fruit of knowing the Lord, and both are possible through the Guru's grace.
"Dead while alive"
Jiwan marhā, jīvat marai, Har nāmu japā'i — "He remains dead while yet alive, and he chants the Name of the Lord." Jīvan-mukti — liberation while living — is described here as being "dead while yet alive." The ego has been released. The constructed self no longer drives the person. Yet they continue to live and to chant. This is the paradox of genuine liberation in the body: the one who lives after the ego has died is more fully alive, not less.
The wandering mind brought home
Man sanjam thāki'ā, ghar āhini — "he restrains his wandering mind, and brings it back to its own home within the self." The home is not external. It is the interior stillness that is the mind's genuine nature. The wandering mind is brought back — not imprisoned but returned to where it belongs.
*What does 'home' feel like on the inside? Is there a state of mind or heart that feels like home to you, regardless of where you physically are?*
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI