Dear Khalsa Ji,

This time, I share with you, my understanding of the 30th Pauri of Anand Sahib.

1. hir Awip Amulku hY muil n pwieAw jwie ] har aap amulak hai mul na paa-i-aa jaa-ay.

‘The Sat’ is priceless; the price of ‘The Sat’ cannot be estimated.

My understanding:

Guru Sahib tells me that ‘The Sat’ cannot be acquired in exchange for any entity or even for all the entities put together that are in this material world. ‘The Sat’ is beyond the domain where such exchanges can take place. ‘The Sat’ is too precious.

2. muil n pwieAw jwie iksY ivthu rhy lok ivllwie ] mul na paa-i-aa jaa-ay kisai vitahu rahay lok villaa-ay.

The value of ‘The Sat’ cannot be put down in any of the terms by any one. People have become weary of trying this.

My understanding:

Guru Sahib tells me that those who try to tag ‘The Sat’ with some price have become weary of doing so.

As I understand, Guru Sahib refers to different form of rituals that individuals perform and offerings that the people make; expecting that in return ‘The Sat’ will bless them.

It is natural; ‘The Sat’ is not a trader. How can the person get any thing from ‘The Sat’ in exchange for some thing else?

‘The Sat’ is comprehensive. ‘The Sat’ needs no inputs for its sustenance. ‘The Sat was, is and will be all on its own. ‘The Sat’ needs no external agency for itself. In fact all agencies are creation of ‘The Sat’. Why will ‘The Sat’ seek any thing from any one? In first place, every entity in this world belongs to ‘The Sat’. This simple fact eludes many of us.

3. AYsw siqguru jy imlY iqs no isru saupIAY ivchu Awpu jwie ] aisaa satgur jay milai tis no sir sa-upee-ai vichahu aap jaa-ay.

Such Satguru if one gets, to this Satguru one gives her or his head and dissolves one’s own ‘I’.

My understanding:

Guru Sahib tells me that if I find ‘The Sat’, it is worth handing over the most essential part of me i.e. my head itself, which naturally will result in dissolution of ‘I’ in me. This way the Ahamkara (ego) in me will cease to exist.

My past learning tells me that the reverse is also true. If the person dissolves her or his Ahamkara in all of its form, then there is a greater possibility of this individual meeting (merging) with ‘The Sat’. By giving up the Ahamkara, one become pure and so naturally moves closer to ‘The Sat’.

4. ijs dw jIau iqsu imil rhY hir vsY min Awie ] jis daa jee-o tis mil rahai har vasai man aa-ay.

If the being merges with the owner (The Sat’ i.e. the creator) then ‘The Sat’ will always dwell in the mind.

My understanding:

In this sentence also Guru Sahib emphasises for me the need to give up my Ahamkara. Guru Sahib tells it very clearly to me that my being belongs to the creator, so why to hesitate to accept this fact.

It is my Ahamkara that is occupying the space in my mind, thus separating me from ‘The Sat’. If the Ahamkara in me is dissolved, then the entire space in my being will get filled with ‘The Sat’. The duality in me will cease; there will be only ‘One’ and no ‘me’. This is what Guru Sahib means by saying that ‘The Sat’ will dwell in my mind.

5. hir Awip Amulku hY Bwg iqnw ky nwnkw ijn hir plY pwie ]30] har aap amulak hai bhaag tinaa kay naankaa jin har palai paa-ay. ||30||

‘The Sat’ is priceless; it is their good fortune, O Nanak, in whose being ‘The Sat’ arrives.

My understanding:

Guru Sahib tells me that ‘The Sat’ is priceless. ‘The Sat’ cannot be obtained in exchange for any worldly entity. Such being the case, Guru Sahib asks me to imagine the good fortune of those, in whose ‘Palaa’ the ‘The Sat’ fills.

The word ‘palai’ means putting something into the ‘palaa’.

The word Palaa means the long loose cloth, an outer garment, worn around the neck, similar to dupatta (long scarf) worn by Indian ladies, which the person asking for alms spreads out to receive what the donor gives.

By using the word Palaa, Guru Sahib conveys that I am a beggar, and nothing more, in front of ‘The Sat’. I agree that it is true.


At the same time Guru Sahib tells me the infinite greatness of ‘The Sat’.


I, the beggar, when spread my Palaa, with pure mind i.e. without Ahamkara, with no ‘I’, ‘my’ or ‘mine’ in it, it is not some worldly item that is put into my Palaa by ‘The Sat’, but the ‘The Sat’- the donor itself - comes into my Palaa. Can there be any bigger giver than this?

Wah-e-Guru, Wah-e-Guru, Wah-e-Guru, Wah-e-Guru ------

This is what Guru Nanak tells to himself.

To convey to me the infinitely high level of reverence, which Guru Sahib has for ‘The Sat’, Guru Sahib refers to himself as Naanaka. The sentiments behind this way of calling can be fully appreciated by those who are familiar with the Punjabi ways of expression.

Such is the priceless ‘Sat’.

What a great teaching from Guru Sahib.

With this I close my post on 30th Pauri of Anand Sahib.

With love and respect for all.



Amarpal Singh