Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
I have not walked Your path; I have wandered the crooked one. In Your Court I find no place to sit.
I am blind in the mind, tangled in grasping; the wall of this body is crumbling, wearing thinner.
You make such big plans for eating and living — but your breaths and your mouthfuls are already counted out.
Our time here is limited, so it's wise to care most about what lasts.
Guru Nanak speaks about himself here, not about others. "I have not walked on Your Path; I have followed the crooked path." He owns his own mistakes instead of pointing at anyone else. That is a brave kind of honesty.
Then comes a reminder. The body is like a wall that slowly wears thin. Laykhai tayrai saas giraas — your breaths and bites of food are already counted. Think of a phone battery. You can plan lots of things, but the charge is not endless. So a mind that keeps grabbing for more is gently reminded to spend its time on what really matters.
If you knew your days were numbered (they are), what would you stop spending them on?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI