Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Bring the twenty-seven elements of the body under your control. Throughout all three stages of life, remember what actually matters.
See the infinite one in the ten directions — in every direction you look, in all the variety of nature.
Says Nanak: in this way, the one Lord will carry you across.
This last part says: take charge of yourself, and see the One everywhere you look.
Bees saptaahro, "twenty and seven," means the twenty-seven parts of a person. An old Indian way of thinking, called Samkhya, counted up all the pieces of body and mind like this. To bring them all under control is to reach vairaag: calm freedom from the tug of stuff and moods. It's like a rider who holds the reins of a lively horse gently but firmly.
Teen khorhaa nit kaal saarai: through childhood, youth and old age, keep the end of life in mind.
Das athaar mai aprampro cheenai: see the endless One in the ten directions — north, south, east, west, the four in-between, above and below. In every direction, the same One. This is what "One everywhere" looks like in everyday life, with your own eyes. Iv ayk taarai: in this way, the One carries you across.
Right now, look around you. Can you see one thing — just one — as a form of the oneness, rather than just as an object? What does that shift feel like?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI