Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
The ones who remember the One give generously to others - I honor such people with my whole heart.
Their faces carry a light. They live in peace. They have won the hardest battle - the one with themselves.
Their way of living is clean and clear, and every joy finds them. They live close to the One.
By the grace of the saints, a person stays awake and aware. Nanak says: such remembering comes as the flowering of great fortune.
The proof of remembering is a generous hand, a peaceful face and a self that has been won over.
This verse moves from what remembering gives to what the one who remembers becomes. The first mark named is generosity. Parabh ka-o simrahi say par-upkaaree — those who remember God help others generously. Inner peace that never spills over into kindness is not the peace Sukhmani means.
The picture goes on. Say mukh suhaavay — their faces are beautiful, glowing like a mind at peace. Tin aatam jeetaa — they have won over their own selves. That is the true battlefield, the same one Japji Pauri 28 speaks of. Tin nirmal reetaa — their way of living is spotless. Baseh har nayray — they live near the One.
Then how it happens. Sant kirpaa tay an-din jaag — by the grace of the saints, one stays awake day and night. Wakefulness is caught from the saints. Think of how you sit up straighter around someone kind and calm.
The last line says this remembering comes poorai bhaag, by perfect good fortune. That is not fate. In Gurbani it is simply how gratitude talks. Looking back from inside the gift, you cannot claim you made it happen.
When you feel most at peace, are you more generous or less - and what does that tell you?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI