Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
How can this restless mind ever come under control?
By the Guru's grace it is stilled — and instructed in wisdom, it comes back home.
This is the Rahao, the "pause" line, the center of the shabad. It asks a question everyone asks sometimes.
Ih manoo-aa ki-o kar vas aavai — how can this mind ever be brought under control? People who meditate ask it. Parents ask it. Students ask it in the middle of homework. The question sounds like a wrestling match, you against your own mind.
But the answer skips the fight. The mind is not broken in like a wild horse. Gur parsaadee thaakee-ai — by the Guru's grace, it is stilled and quieted. Then, taught by wisdom, it does something force could never make it do: ghar aavai — it comes home. Think of a child lost in a big store who suddenly remembers the way back. No one has to drag them. They just run home.
When your mind races, what actually settles it — force, or something gentler?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI