Vahiguru ji ka Khalsa, Vahiguru ji ki Fatih!

Some words do not just speak; they stir. They awaken something long forgotten. Have we drifted—without realizing it? Bhagat Surdas ji (1478–1583 CE) speaks only once in the Guru Granth Sahib, yet his voice lingers:

O mind! Renounce the company of those who have turned away from Hari, the 1-Light, the All-Pervasive, the Fear-Eliminator, the Remover of Suffering, the IkOankar.

A single line. Simple. Direct. Yet beneath its quiet plea lies an ocean of longing—a yearning for clarity, for direction, for truth.

We pause.
We reflect.

What does it mean to turn away? Not in body but in spirit. Not in words but in the silent corridors of the heart, where choices are made, where love either deepens or drifts.

Bhagat Surdas ji uses the word bimukhan—a word heavy with meaning. It is not mere ignorance but a severance, a quiet rupture. A manmukh follows their own mind, perhaps unaware or indifferent to the Wisdom-Guru, never having truly turned toward it. But a vemukh—a bimukhan—is different. This is someone who once stood in the warmth of IkOankar, the One, once felt the embrace of IkOankar, once walked in the glow of IkOankar… and then chose to step away.

Bhagat Surdas ji is not merely cautioning us about others—he is asking us to look within. Have we turned away? Have we allowed the noise of the world, the pull of distractions, and the weight of disappointments to lead us further from IkOankar? His words are not about blame; they are about awakening. Before we can choose the company we keep, we must first recognize where we stand.

And so we ask ourselves: Have we, too, drifted? Have we let the voices of those disconnected from the One shape our own path? Have we mistaken comfort for connection, routine for remembrance?

This verse does not condemn—it calls us home. It is not about leaving others behind but about rediscovering our own footing. It is an invitation to return, to step once more into the Light that has never stopped waiting for us.

What does the return look like?

Perhaps it begins with longing. Perhaps it begins with a single step. But it always begins with awareness.

And that is where we start.

May Wisdom-Guru guide us.