Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Sukhmani - the peace of the mind, the sweet nectar of God's Naam. The minds of those who love the One rest in a quiet joy.
Remembering the One, you are not thrown back into forgetting. The sting of death softens. Fear cannot touch you, and sorrow cannot stay.
Remembering the One, enemies back away, obstacles dissolve, and you stay awake and aware, day and night.
This remembering lives in the Sangat. And Nanak says: every treasure there is, is found in loving the One.
Peace of mind is a practice, not a possession: remembering the One until fear and sorrow have nowhere to sit.
This verse holds the rahaa-o, the "pause" line. In Gurbani it marks the center line the whole song turns around. Sukhmanee sukh amrit parabh naam — Sukhmani, peace of mind, is the sweet nectar of God's Naam. Bhagat janaa kai man bisraam — the minds of those who love the One rest in joyful peace. This is the title line of the whole composition. Everything after it unpacks it.
Then the verse lists what simran, remembering the One, clears away: the circle of being born again, the pain of death, fear, sorrow and obstacles. These are not magic prizes. They describe a mind that has stopped feeling separate and alone, a mind free of haumai, the sense of a cut-off "me." Think of a night-light in a child's room. The room is the same, but the fear is gone.
Two last lines matter. Parabh kaa simran saaDh kai sang — remembering lives in the Sangat — people gathered together to remember the One. It is caught from the Sangat, the way laughter spreads. And sarab niDhaan naanak har rang — all treasures are in loving the One. The treasure is not a prize given for the love. The love is the treasure.
When you are afraid at night, what do you reach for - and does it make you less afraid?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI