ਬਿਸਟਾ ਅਸਤ ਰਕਤੁ ਪਰੇਟੇ ਚਾਮ ॥
bistaa asat rakat paraytay chaam.
you are just excrement, bones and blood, wrapped up in skin
ਇਸੁ ਊਪਰਿ ਲੇ ਰਾਖਿਓ ਗੁਮਾਨ ॥੩॥
is oopar lay raakhi-o gumaan. ||3||
- this is what you are taking such pride in! ||3||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
You are flesh and bone and blood, wrapped up in skin —
and this is what you take such pride in!
We take such pride in a body that is, after all, just flesh and bone — humble and passing.
The humbling truth of the body's composition: flesh, bone, blood, skin — ordinary, perishable stuff. (Guru Arjan's image is deliberately blunt to deflate vanity; rendered plainly here.) The point is not disgust at the body but the absurdity of pride in something so humble and temporary.
A Question to Sit With
Why do you think people take so much pride in appearance, which doesn't last?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
Use ← → to navigate