Salok Sehskritee, Salok 50 — The Craving That Will Not Fill
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
O lust, wild wanting of the body, you lead people to hell and make them wander through countless lives.
You steal the mind and reach into all three worlds. You wreck prayer, discipline and goodness.
Your pleasure is small, and it leaves people weak and shaky. You get into the high and the low alike.
Nanak says: in the Sangat, with the shelter of the One, the fear of you is gone.
Strong desire promises a lot, gives little, and leaves a person weaker than before.
Kaam is strong bodily desire. Here it also stands for any craving that grabs hold of us.
The verse is honest about how strong it is. It pulls at the mind in every world. It knocks over prayer, discipline, and goodness. And after all that, it gives only a little pleasure. Then it leaves a person weak and shaky. It reaches the high and the low alike.
Think of eating a whole bag of candy. It promises so much. Then you feel worse than before. Some cravings are like that. They say they will fill you up, but they hollow you out.
The way out is not to fight alone. The fear of this pull goes away in the Sangat. There, held by the One, the grip loosens.
Have you ever wanted something, gotten it, and felt empty after? What fills you up instead?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI