Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Moment after moment, my mind wanders and runs all over the place. It won't stay in its own home for even an instant.
But the Guru places the Word over it, like a rein on a runaway pony — a rein that is medicine too. Then the mind turns around and comes back to live in its own home.
A runaway mind can be brought home, and the Guru's Word is what turns it around.
Man khin khin bharam bharam baho dhaavai — moment by moment, the mind wanders and runs. It cannot rest in its own house for even a til, a sesame seed's worth of time. You know this feeling. You sit down to read, and a minute later your thoughts are at lunch, at a game, at something someone said yesterday.
The answer is the ankas, the hook or rein used to guide an elephant or a horse. Here the rein is the sabad, the Word, and it is also daaroo, medicine. It guides gently and heals at the same time. Then the mind comes back ghar mandar, to its own home, a home that is also a temple.
What helps your mind settle down when it is racing all over the place?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI