Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
The Gurmukhs meditate on the Name. They eradicate selfishness and conceit from within — not from the surface, but from the root.
They are pure inwardly and outwardly. They merge into the Truest of the True.
O Nanak, blessed is the coming of those who follow the teaching and meditate on the Lord. Their arrival in this world was worth it.
The closing pauri presents the Gurmukh as someone whose inner and outer lives finally match. Antar baahar — within and without — both pure. This is the resolution of the performance-vs-reality split that Guru Amar Das diagnoses throughout this shabad.
"Blessed is their coming" — dhan aavanaa — the birth itself is celebrated retroactively when it has been well-used. This is the highest affirmation in Gurbani: your life was worth it.
When you imagine looking back on your life at the end, what would make you feel your coming was worth it — not in terms of achievement, but in terms of who you were?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI