Sikhism·Raag Basant·Shabad 56
Verse 3 of 5

The Best Game to Win

ਕਰਮ ਧਰਮ ਤੁਮ੍ਹ੍ਹ ਚਉਪੜਿ ਸਾਜਹੁ ਸਤੁ ਕਰਹੁ ਤੁਮ੍ਹ੍ਹ ਸਾਰੀ ॥
karam Dharam tumH cha-uparh saajahu sat karahu tumH saaree.
Let righteous actions be your gameboard, and let the truth be your dice.
ਕਾਮੁ ਕ੍ਰੋਧੁ ਲੋਭੁ ਮੋਹੁ ਜੀਤਹੁ ਐਸੀ ਖੇਲ ਹਰਿ ਪਿਆਰੀ ॥੨॥
kaam kroDh lobh moh jeetahu aisee khayl har pi-aaree. ||2||
Conquer sexual desire, anger, greed and worldly attachment; only such a game as this is dear to the Lord. ||2||

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa

In plain words

Make good, right actions your gameboard, and make truth your dice.

Win against craving, anger, greed and clinging. Only a game like this is dear to the One.

The best game to win is the one against your own worst habits.
The deeper layer

Good actions make the board, truth makes the dice, and the opponents to beat live inside you.

Make karam Dharam your cha-uparh, your gameboard. Karam means your actions, and Dharam means doing what is right. So good, fair actions are the board you play on. The dice you throw are sat, truth.

Then there are four opponents to beat: kaam kroDh lobh moh. That means strong craving, anger, greed, and clinging too tightly. They are not other players. They live inside us.

Think of a video game where the final boss is not a monster. It is your own temper, or wanting too much. Aisee khayl har pi-aaree — a game like this is dear to the One. The One loves to watch us play it, and win it from the inside.

A Question to Sit With

Which of your own habits would you most like to win against?

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI

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