Where the Self Dissolves, the Holy and the One Are One

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa

Where the separate self has melted away, the Holy and the One are the same.

This is the claim the whole song has been walking toward, and now it stands plainly. Naanak saadh prabh bhayd na bhaa-ee — O Nanak, there is no difference between the Holy and the One.

This does not mean people are turned into gods. It is Ik Onkar, "there is One," coming full circle. When the separate self melts away completely, what is left in a person is the One. Think of an ice cube dropped into a glass of water. Once it melts, you cannot point to where the ice ends and the water begins. Two names now point to one thing. A shabad in Raag Aasaa says the same: know your own soul and you know the Supreme Soul, the two "of the same color."

Saadh kee mahimaa bayd na jaaneh — the Vedas do not know the glory of the Holy. The Vedas are the oldest scriptures of India. Jaytaa suneh taytaa bakhi-aaneh — they can describe only what they have heard. Here the Guru, himself deeply learned, draws a line for all learning. A report from others, however sacred, stops where your own meeting begins. It is like reading about swimming compared with jumping into the pool.

Tihu gun tay door — the Holy are beyond the three qualities. The three qualities, trai gun, are the three moods that shape everything in nature. The Holy live in a fourth place, outside all of nature's weather.

The song began, "Listen, friends, to a wonderful story." It ends by admitting that the hero of the story cannot be described. The Holy can only be met.