ਤੂ ਕਾਂਇ ਗਰਬਹਿ ਬਾਵਲੀ ॥
too kaaN-ay garbeh baavlee.
Why are you so proud? You are insane.
ਜੈਸੇ ਭਾਦਉ ਖੂੰਬਰਾਜੁ ਤੂ ਤਿਸ ਤੇ ਖਰੀ ਉਤਾਵਲੀ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
jaisay bhaada-o khoombraaj too tis tay kharee utaavalee. ||1|| rahaa-o.
Even the mushrooms of summer live longer than you. ||1||Pause||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Why are you so proud, you foolish one?
Even a summer mushroom lasts longer than you.
Showing-off fades fast — even a mushroom outlasts it — so wear pride lightly.
Pride makes little sense when our time here is so short.
This is the rahaa-o, the "pause" line, the center of the shabad. too kaa-ay garbeh baavlee — why are you so proud, silly one?
Then comes a funny picture. A khoombraaj, a mushroom that pops up after summer rain, lasts longer than you do. Mushrooms appear overnight and are gone in days. Ravi Daas is not being mean. He is like a grandparent who laughs kindly when a child boasts too much. The point is to hold our pride lightly.
A Question to Sit With
What is a lighthearted way to remind yourself not to take your own pride too seriously?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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