Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Whoever falls in love with the pull of illusion is, in the end, swallowed by it.
Whoever sets it up in comfort ends up terrified of it; family and friends quarrel over it.
But by the Guru's grace, it has come under my control.
This one says that whatever you chase too hard ends up chasing you.
Guru Arjan talks about Maya as if it were a person. Maya is the pull of shiny things and of clinging to what we have. Speaking of it as a person is just a way to paint a picture. It is not about any real person.
Everyone chases Maya, and no one can hold it. Jin laa-ee pareet so-ee fir khaa-i-aa — whoever falls in love with it is, in the end, swallowed by it. Whoever piles it up lives in fear of losing it. Families even argue over it.
Think of a new video game you cannot stop playing. At first you control it. Soon it is keeping you up at night, and you and your brother are fighting over whose turn it is.
Ham aa-ee vasgat gur parsaaday — by the Guru's grace, it has come under my control. This does not happen by force. It happens when the heart turns toward the Guru.
What is something that controls the people who chase it, but loses its grip on those who hold it loosely?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI