Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
True are the teachings of the good; true are the hearts He has entered.
Whoever knows the Truth and loves it is carried across by the Name.
He Himself is True, and what He made is truly made; He Himself knows His own state - no one else, however they strain.
The made cannot measure the Maker. What pleases Him is what comes to pass.
This one says you cannot measure the One, but you can still know and love the One.
Here is the clearest sentence of the whole song. Kartay kee mit na jaanai kee-aa — what is made cannot know the size of its Maker. It is the father question from the third verse, now said as a rule.
Every tool a creature could use to measure God was itself made. Mind, logic, telescope, scripture. A ruler cannot measure the hand that made rulers.
But see what the verse does not say. It never says the One cannot be known at all. It says the One's size cannot be known. The whole song keeps this line clear. The edges cannot be found. The beginning cannot be seen. The worth cannot be priced. And yet Truth can be known and loved. Sat nirat boojhai jay ko-ay, naam japat taa kee gat ho-ay — whoever truly knows the Truth is freed by repeating the Name. The Name can be held. The trust can be received.
Think of the ocean. You cannot map all of it. You can still swim in it.
The opening pair shows where we learn to swim. Sat bachan saaDhoo updays — true are the teachings of the holy. Sat tay jan jaa kai ridai parvays — true are the people whose hearts the One has entered. We learn from good teaching and from hearts the One lives in.
What is something too big for you to ever fully understand, that you can still truly know and love?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI