Verse 4 of 5
Bound by Household and Possessions; the Saints Free, Knowing the One Near
ਬੰਧਨ ਅੰਧ ਕੂਪ ਗ੍ਰਿਹ ਮੇਰਾ ॥
banDhan anDh koop garih mayraa.
Bound to household and possessions, the mortals are lost in the deep, dark pit.
ਮੁਕਤੇ ਸੰਤ ਬੁਝਹਿ ਹਰਿ ਨੇਰਾ ॥੩॥
muktay sant bujheh har nayraa. ||3||
The Saints are liberated, knowing the Lord to be near at hand. ||3||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Bound to home and possessions, people are lost in the deep dark pit.
The Saints are free, knowing the One is right at hand.
Bound by household and possessions, the soul is lost; the Saints are free, knowing the One is right here.
The verse warns of the binding of "household and possessions" — what drops the soul "into the deep, dark pit." The Saints, by contrast, are "liberated, knowing the Lord to be near at hand" (nerai). Sikh tradition reads this as a caution against possessiveness rather than against household life itself.
A Question to Sit With
Can you hold what you have with an open hand, knowing the One is near?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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