Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
The ones who remember the One are the rich ones. The ones who remember are the honored ones.
The ones who remember are approved, distinguished, lacking nothing. In their own lives, they are rulers.
The ones who remember live in peace, and what is true in them does not die.
But only those hold to remembering who are held by Mercy. Nanak asks for nothing but the dust of their feet.
The world's titles, like rich, honored, royal and undying, belong quietly to the ones who remember.
Eight titles the world hands out are given, in eight lines, to those who remember. They are wealthy, honorable, approved, distinguished, lacking nothing, rulers, at peace and undying. Parabh ka-o simrahi say Dhanvantay — those who remember God are the wealthy ones.
This is the same turn-around Guru Nanak makes in Japji Pauri 23. There, a king who forgets is worth less than an ant who remembers. Here it is said in the positive. Remembering is itself the wealth, the rank and the crown.
Parabh ka-o simrahi se sarab kay raajay — those who remember are rulers of all. That does not mean power over others. It means something most rulers never have: being in charge of your own mind. Think of a kid who stays calm and kind when everyone else is shouting.
Then comes the line that keeps returning: simran tay laagay jin aap da-i-aalaa. Only those hold to remembering, to whom the One Himself shows mercy. Sukhmani never lets anyone turn simran, remembering, into a merit badge. Every ashtapadee, or set of eight verses, that praises those who remember ends by bowing to grace.
Naanak jan kee mangai ravaalaa — Nanak asks for the dust of their feet. It is a picture of taking the lowest place near the holy. It closes the verse where Sukhmani began, in humility.
Who do you know that seems deeply at peace - and what do they treasure?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI