Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Nanak prays, please hear me. You are the pool. You are the swan.
You are the lotus of the day. You are the lily of the night. You look at them, and You bloom with joy.
This closing verse is a prayer that sees the One in every part of a peaceful pond.
Paranvai naanak bayntee — Nanak humbly prays. Too sarvar too hans — You are the pool, and You are the swan. The swan stands for the seeker, gliding in the holy pool.
Ka-ul too hai kavee-aa too hai — You are the kaval, the lotus that opens in the day. You are the kavee-aa, the water-lily that opens at night. Aapay vaykh vigas — You Yourself look at them, and You Yourself bloom with joy.
Picture a still pond at dawn. The water, the swan, the flowers, the one watching and the one blooming: all of it is the One. The seeker and the sought are the same.
And yet Nanak still prays. Seeing the oneness does not end the relationship. It makes it deeper. Think of a child who knows for sure that their parent loves them. They still say "I love you" at bedtime. Knowing makes the words more honest, not less needed.
If you knew that what you were seeking was already what you are — would you still search? What would change about how you searched?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI