Humility Multiplies Your Worth; Pride Throws It Away
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Help gladly and go along with those you serve, and your worth only grows.
But puff yourself up and insist you're better than everyone, and you lose the very thing you were after. So celebrate the One who feeds us all, and ask humbly rather than demand.
The Pauree contrasts the humble helper with the puffed-up one. Serve gladly, in tune with those you're helping, and your honor increases — you receive double. But claim to be equal to (or better than) the Master — insist on your own importance — and you lose your whole reward. The lesson lands in the closing line, a keynote of the whole Vaar: no one can command the One; let us offer prayers instead. Toward the source of everything, the right posture is gratitude and humble asking, not demanding. Celebrate the One from whom we receive our nourishment — and notice how humility multiplies what pride throws away.
Why does insisting you're better than everyone actually cost you, in the end?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI