Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
When you believe, every taste is sweet. When you listen, you taste the salty flavors.
When you chant with your mouth, you taste the spicy ones. All these spices come from the Naad, the sound of the Word.
The thirty-six flavors of nectar are in the love of the One. Only the one He looks on with grace can taste them.
This one says every true taste in life comes from the One, and grace lets us taste it.
This shabad runs through many verses in pairs. Some verses name a pleasure: food, clothes, riding, sleep, cleverness. The "pause" lines answer each one: the pleasure of that other thing is false.
This first verse sets the frame with the kitchen. Sabh ras mithay mani-ai — trusting the One, every taste is sweet. Listening is the salt. Speaking His praise is the spice. And all these spices come from the Naad, the sound of the Word that runs through all creation.
Think of a cook's spice rack. Each jar tastes different. Yet all of them grew from the same soil. Real joy comes from drinking at the source, not just skimming the top.
Chhateeh amrit bhaa-o ayk — the thirty-six sweet flavors are in the love of the One. In old Indian cooking and medicine, thirty-six stood for every taste there is. Guru Nanak gathers the whole world of the senses into the One. Jaa ka-o nadar karay-i — only the one He looks on with grace gets to taste it.
Can you think of something simple — a meal, a sound, a smell — that gave you pure, uncomplicated joy? What was it like in that moment?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI