ਮੂਲੁ ਸਮਾਲਹੁ ਅਚੇਤ ਗਵਾਰਾ ॥
mool samaalahu achayt gavaaraa.
Remember your origins, O thoughtless fool.
ਇਤਨੇ ਕਉ ਤੁਮ੍ਹ੍ਹ ਕਿਆ ਗਰਬੇ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
itnay ka-o tumH ki-aa garbay. ||1|| rahaa-o.
Why are you so proud of yourself? ||1||Pause||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Remember where you came from, you thoughtless one.
Why are you so full of yourself?
Remembering where you came from quietly takes the air out of pride.
The Pause is a bracing question: "why are you so proud of yourself?" Remembering your origin — that you did not make yourself, that you come from humble beginnings and return to dust — punctures pride at its root. Humility is simply accurate memory of where you came from.
A Question to Sit With
Does remembering your beginnings make you humbler — and is that a good thing?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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