Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
It leads astray even those who do hard penance; the learned scholars are caught by greed.
The whole world of the three qualities is lured, and the heavens too.
The true Guru saved me, reaching out His hand.
This one says that when you are stuck in something, you cannot pull yourself out alone. You need a hand from outside.
Even hard effort and great learning are not enough. Tap kartay tapsee bhoolaa-ay — Maya leads astray even people who put themselves through hard trials. And pandit mohay lobh sabaa-ay — the pandits, the learned scholars, are caught by greed.
The trai gun are the "three qualities" that make up the whole natural world. They are calm, restless and dull. Everything in that world is pulled by Maya, even the heavens. So there is no way out by staying inside those three. The way out is beyond them.
Think of being stuck in deep mud. The harder you kick, the deeper you sink. You need someone on firm ground to reach out their hand. Ham satgur raakhay day kar haath — the true Guru saved me by giving me his hand.
When has trying harder by yourself not been enough, and you needed a hand from outside?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI