Salok Vaaraan Te Vadheek (Mehl 3), Salok 52 — What Stays with You in the End
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
The mind of the manmukh — the one who follows only their own wants — is restless, and inside there is a lot of clever scheming.
All that they have done, and all they keep doing, goes to waste; not even a sesame seed of it is accepted.
The charity and giving they plant all goes before the Judge of Dharma, to be weighed.
Without the True Guru, death does not let go of them; love of "the other" leads them astray.
Youth slips away without their noticing; old age arrives, and then they die.
They are wrapped up in love and attachment to children and spouse, but at the end, no one is there as a friend or helper.
Whoever serves the True Guru finds peace; the Naam comes to live in the mind.
Nanak says: great and very fortunate are those who turn to the Guru and merge in the Naam.
Cleverness, show and even the people we cling to cannot go with us at the end; the Naam that lives in the mind brings peace.
Manmukh chanchal mat: the self-willed mind is restless and full of chaturaa-ee, clever scheming. Whatever it does, ik til thaa-ay na paa-ee, not even a sesame seed's worth counts. Even its charity, punn daan, goes before Dharam Raa-ay, the Judge of Dharma, to be weighed.
Then come the plain facts of a life: joban jaa(n)daa nadar na aavee, youth leaves without being noticed; old age comes, and then death. Put kalat: children and spouse are loved, yet ant baylee ko na sakhaa-ee, no one can be the helper at the end.
The turn is satgur sayvay so sukh paa-ay: whoever serves the Guru finds peace, and the Naam settles in the mind.
If most things do not last, what is one thing you would want to carry with you no matter what?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI