ਆਸਾ ਮਹਲਾ ੫ ॥
aasaa mehlaa 5.
Aasaa, Fifth Mehl:
ਜਨਮ ਜਨਮ ਕੀ ਮਲੁ ਧੋਵੈ ਪਰਾਈ ਆਪਣਾ ਕੀਤਾ ਪਾਵੈ ॥
janam janam kee mal Dhovai paraa-ee aapnaa keetaa paavai.
He washes off the filth of other peoples' incarnations, but he obtains the rewards of his own actions.
ਈਹਾ ਸੁਖੁ ਨਹੀ ਦਰਗਹ ਢੋਈ ਜਮ ਪੁਰਿ ਜਾਇ ਪਚਾਵੈ ॥੧॥
eehaa sukh nahee dargeh dho-ee jam pur jaa-ay pachaavai. ||1||
He has no peace in this world, and he has no place in the Court of the Lord. In the City of Death, he is tortured. ||1||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
The slanderer washes off the karma of the very people he slanders — but reaps the harvest of his own deeds.
He finds no peace in this world and no place in the Court; in the City of Death, he suffers.
Tearing others down lifts their burden and leaves you with only your own.
A striking irony from the Sikh tradition: by slandering others, the nindak actually "washes off the filth of other peoples' incarnations" — taking on their burdens — while reaping only "the rewards of his own actions." Slander harms its target least and its speaker most; the slanderer is left with "no peace... no place" (cf. Shabad 101).
A Question to Sit With
Have you noticed that attacking someone often says more about the attacker than the attacked?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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