Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
There is one Doer behind all the doing - there is no other at all.
Nanak says: I give myself to the One who fills the waters, the lands, the sky, and every space between.
There is only one Doer behind everything that happens.
karan kaaran parabh ayk hai doosar naahee ko-ay — the One alone is the Doer and the Cause; there is no second at all. This salok, a short opening verse, starts the eleventh ashtapadee of Sukhmani Sahib. An ashtapadee is a group of eight verses.
This is Ik Oankaar, "there is One," said like a law of nature. It does not mean one God among other possible gods. It means one Power behind every event.
Think of your heart. Your fingers, toes and eyes all move, but one heartbeat keeps every part going.
The next eight pauris test this claim. They look at everything that seems to argue against it: human effort, human pride, the big swings of luck. Each time, one refrain takes it all in: "as it pleases Him."
The salok's map is total from the start: jal thal mahee-al — the waters, the lands, the sky and all space. The One fills them all before the argument even begins.
Watch anything happen today - rain, traffic, your own heartbeat. How far back can you trace what made it happen?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI