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Sikhism·Aasaa Kee Vaar·Aasaa Kee Vaar, Pauri 1
Verse 21 of 85

The Me-First Feeling Quietly Colors Everything

ਸਲੋਕ ਮਃ ੧ ॥
salok mehlaa 1.
Shalok, First Mehl:
ਹਉ ਵਿਚਿ ਆਇਆ ਹਉ ਵਿਚਿ ਗਇਆ ॥
ha-o vich aa-i-aa ha-o vich ga-i-aa.
In ego they come, and in ego they go.
ਹਉ ਵਿਚਿ ਜੰਮਿਆ ਹਉ ਵਿਚਿ ਮੁਆ ॥
ha-o vich jammi-aa ha-o vich mu-aa.
In ego they are born, and in ego they die.
ਹਉ ਵਿਚਿ ਦਿਤਾ ਹਉ ਵਿਚਿ ਲਇਆ ॥
ha-o vich ditaa ha-o vich la-i-aa.
In ego they give, and in ego they take.
ਹਉ ਵਿਚਿ ਖਟਿਆ ਹਉ ਵਿਚਿ ਗਇਆ ॥
ha-o vich khati-aa ha-o vich ga-i-aa.
In ego they earn, and in ego they lose.
ਹਉ ਵਿਚਿ ਸਚਿਆਰੁ ਕੂੜਿਆਰੁ ॥
ha-o vich sachiaar koorhi-aar.
In ego they become truthful or false.
ਹਉ ਵਿਚਿ ਪਾਪ ਪੁੰਨ ਵੀਚਾਰੁ ॥
ha-o vich paap punn veechaar.
In ego they reflect on virtue and sin.
ਹਉ ਵਿਚਿ ਨਰਕਿ ਸੁਰਗਿ ਅਵਤਾਰੁ ॥
ha-o vich narak surag avtaar.
In ego they go to heaven or hell.
ਹਉ ਵਿਚਿ ਹਸੈ ਹਉ ਵਿਚਿ ਰੋਵੈ ॥
ha-o vich hasai ha-o vich rovai.
In ego they laugh, and in ego they weep.
ਹਉ ਵਿਚਿ ਭਰੀਐ ਹਉ ਵਿਚਿ ਧੋਵੈ ॥
ha-o vich bharee-ai ha-o vich Dhovai.
In ego they become dirty, and in ego they are washed clean.
ਹਉ ਵਿਚਿ ਜਾਤੀ ਜਿਨਸੀ ਖੋਵੈ ॥
ha-o vich jaatee jinsee khovai.
In ego they lose social status and class.
ਹਉ ਵਿਚਿ ਮੂਰਖੁ ਹਉ ਵਿਚਿ ਸਿਆਣਾ ॥
ha-o vich moorakh ha-o vich si-aanaa.
In ego they are ignorant, and in ego they are wise.
ਮੋਖ ਮੁਕਤਿ ਕੀ ਸਾਰ ਨ ਜਾਣਾ ॥
mokh mukat kee saar na jaanaa.
They do not know the value of salvation and liberation.
ਹਉ ਵਿਚਿ ਮਾਇਆ ਹਉ ਵਿਚਿ ਛਾਇਆ ॥
ha-o vich maa-i-aa ha-o vich chhaa-i-aa.
In ego they love Maya, and in ego they are kept in darkness by it.
ਹਉਮੈ ਕਰਿ ਕਰਿ ਜੰਤ ਉਪਾਇਆ ॥
ha-umai kar kar jant upaa-i-aa.
Living in ego, mortal beings are created.
ਹਉਮੈ ਬੂਝੈ ਤਾ ਦਰੁ ਸੂਝੈ ॥
ha-umai boojhai taa dar soojhai.
When one understands ego, then the Lord's gate is known.
ਗਿਆਨ ਵਿਹੂਣਾ ਕਥਿ ਕਥਿ ਲੂਝੈ ॥
gi-aan vihoonaa kath kath loojhai.
Without spiritual wisdom, they babble and argue.
ਨਾਨਕ ਹੁਕਮੀ ਲਿਖੀਐ ਲੇਖੁ ॥
naanak hukmee likee-ai laykh.
O Nanak, by the Lord's Command, destiny is recorded.
ਜੇਹਾ ਵੇਖਹਿ ਤੇਹਾ ਵੇਖੁ ॥੧॥
jayhaa vaykheh tayhaa vaykh. ||1||
As the Lord sees us, so are we seen. ||1||

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa

In plain words

When we live from 'me, me, mine,' that ego colors everything — how we come and go, give and take, win and lose, laugh and cry.

But the moment you really understand your own ego, a door opens — and you see the One waiting on the other side of it.

The 'me-first' feeling quietly colors everything — but the moment you truly understand it, a door opens.
The deeper layer

This is the Vaar's great meditation on haumai — ego, the me-first, me-separate feeling. Line after line shows how ego colors everything: in ego they come and go, are born and die, give and take, win and lose, laugh and weep. The point isn't that any single act is bad; it's that the whole of an unexamined life gets filtered through 'me' — even our virtues and our religion. And then the turning line, one of Gurbani's most important: when one understands ego, then the Lord's gate is known. You don't defeat the ego by hating it; you understand it — see clearly how the 'me-first' lens distorts everything — and in that very seeing, a door opens. Self-understanding is the threshold.

A Question to Sit With

Can you catch the 'me-first' feeling coloring how you see something? What happens when you notice it?

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI

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