ਹਉਮੈ ਕਰਮ ਕਿਛੁ ਬਿਧਿ ਨਹੀ ਜਾਣੈ ॥
ha-umai karam kichh biDh nahee jaanai.
One who acts in ego, knows nothing about the Way.
ਜਿਉ ਕੁੰਚਰੁ ਨਾਇ ਖਾਕੁ ਸਿਰਿ ਛਾਣੈ ॥੩॥
ji-o kunchar naa-ay khaak sir chhaanai. ||3||
He acts like an elephant, who takes a bath, and then throws dust on his head. ||3||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
The one who acts out of ego knows nothing of the Way.
He is like an elephant who bathes clean, then throws dust all over his head.
Acting from ego is like an elephant bathing clean and then throwing dust on itself.
An unforgettable image: the elephant who bathes and then dusts himself. The ego-driven person undoes his own cleansing — every step toward purity is cancelled by a fresh act of pride. It pictures the futility of spiritual effort that is still rooted in haumai: you wash, then dirty yourself again, because the washer is the very ego that needs washing.
A Question to Sit With
Have you ever undone something good you'd done by letting pride creep back in?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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