ਬਿਰਥਾ ਜਨਮੁ ਤਿਨਾ ਜਿਨ੍ਹ੍ਹੀ ਨਾਮੁ ਵਿਸਾਰਿਆ ॥
birthaa janam tinaa jinHee naam visaari-aa.
Useless are the lives of those, who have forgotten the Naam.
ਜੂਐ ਖੇਲਣੁ ਜਗਿ ਕਿ ਇਹੁ ਮਨੁ ਹਾਰਿਆ ॥੩॥
joo-ai khaylan jag ke ih man haari-aa. ||3||
They play the game of chance in this world, and lose their mind. ||3||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Wasted are the lives of those who have forgotten the Name.
They play a game of chance in this world, and lose their very minds.
To forget the Name is to gamble your one life on a bet that can't win.
The Name-less life is a gamble — "they play the game of chance... and lose." To live forgetting the Name is to bet your one counted life on what cannot win (cf. Shabad 78, losing the game in the gamble). The stake is high: not just goods, but "their mind" — the self lost in the losing bet.
A Question to Sit With
What are you "betting" your time and attention on — and is it a safe bet?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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