ਨਾਮਹੀਣ ਗਏ ਮੂੜ ਨੰਗਾ ॥
naamheen ga-ay moorh nangaa.
Without the Naam, the fools depart naked.
ਪਚਿ ਪਚਿ ਮੁਏ ਬਿਖੁ ਦੇਖਿ ਪਤੰਗਾ ॥੩॥
pach pach mu-ay bikh daykh patangaa. ||3||
They burn away to death, chasing the poison of Maya, like the moth chasing the flame. ||3||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Without the Name, fools leave this world empty-handed.
They burn themselves to death chasing the poison of Maya, like a moth chasing the flame.
Chasing the wrong thing can be like a moth flying into the flame — drawn to what destroys it.
The vivid image of the moth and the flame: the Name-less, dazzled by Maya, fly straight into what destroys them, "burning away to death." The tragedy is the attraction itself — they are drawn to the very thing that consumes them. It names how the passions work: not as obvious enemies but as bright lures.
A Question to Sit With
What kinds of things are tempting precisely because they look bright and shiny?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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