Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Spiritual darkness is dispelled in the Holy Congregation. The light of divine wisdom illuminates all.
God is obtained through loving devotional service. This is known through the Guru's Teachings.
O Nanak — one who praises the Naam is known as the dust of all.
Gyan andhera naas (spiritual darkness dispersed) in the Holy Congregation. The community specifically dispels the darkness that individual practice cannot easily reach.
"Known as the dust of all" — Naam japee Nanak sab kaa dhoor — the one who praises the Naam is the lowest, the dust beneath all. The final position of the genuine practitioner is not elevation but complete humility: dust.
This is not self-deprecation. It is the recognition that the ego's project of being above others is completely dissolved. The dust is the most humble and also, paradoxically, the most intimate: dust touches everything it is beneath.
What would it feel like to genuinely think of yourself as the dust beneath others — not self-punishment, but freedom from needing to be above anyone?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI