Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
O Nanak — one comes and goes through reincarnation until the account with the Lord is settled.
Through the True Name, the account is settled and one merges in Truth.
The Name is not just spiritual practice — it is also how the debt is paid and the cycle ended.
The closing pauri uses the lekha (account, reckoning) metaphor: the soul cycles through reincarnation until the account is settled (lekha hovai sach). The Name is the currency that settles the account.
This merges the karmic framework (debts accumulated over lifetimes) with the grace framework (the Name resolves what karma alone cannot). Grace is not opposed to karma — it is the mechanism by which karmic debt is resolved at its root.
Do you believe in some form of consequences across time — that choices echo beyond the moment? How does that belief (or skepticism about it) affect how you make decisions?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI