ਆਸਾ ਮਹਲਾ ੫ ॥
aasaa mehlaa 5.
Aasaa, Fifth Mehl:
ਜਉ ਮੈ ਕੀਓ ਸਗਲ ਸੀਗਾਰਾ ॥
ja-o mai kee-o sagal seegaaraa.
Even though I totally decorated myself,
ਤਉ ਭੀ ਮੇਰਾ ਮਨੁ ਨ ਪਤੀਆਰਾ ॥
ta-o bhee mayraa man na patee-aaraa.
still, my mind was not satisfied.
ਅਨਿਕ ਸੁਗੰਧਤ ਤਨ ਮਹਿ ਲਾਵਉ ॥
anik suganDhat tan meh laava-o.
I applied various scented oils to my body,
ਓਹੁ ਸੁਖੁ ਤਿਲੁ ਸਮਾਨਿ ਨਹੀ ਪਾਵਉ ॥
oh sukh til samaan nahee paava-o.
and yet, I did not obtain even a tiny bit of pleasure from this.
ਮਨ ਮਹਿ ਚਿਤਵਉ ਐਸੀ ਆਸਾਈ ॥
man meh chitva-o aisee aasaa-ee.
Within my mind, I hold such a desire,
ਪ੍ਰਿਅ ਦੇਖਤ ਜੀਵਉ ਮੇਰੀ ਮਾਈ ॥੧॥
pari-a daykhat jeeva-o mayree maa-ee. ||1||
that I may live only to behold my Beloved, O my mother. ||1||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Even when I dressed myself up completely, still my mind was not satisfied.
I rubbed every kind of perfume on my body, and got not the smallest pleasure from it.
Deep down I hold just one wish: to live only to see my Beloved, O mother.
When even every pleasure leaves you restless, it may be pointing you toward what you're really made for.
The soul tries every sensory pleasure — full adornment, every perfume — and finds "not even a tiny bit of pleasure." The dissatisfaction is not a failure of the pleasures but a sign of what the soul is really made for: "to live only to behold my Beloved." The restlessness is itself the pointer home.
A Question to Sit With
Have you ever gotten exactly what you wanted and still felt something missing?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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