Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Caught in love of Maya, the shiny world, people grow sad, and sadness eats them up.
Without the Naam, they wander and wander and wander, and wear away.
Clinging to shiny things wears you out with worry, and without the Naam you wander in circles.
This is the rahaa-o, the "pause" line, the centre of the shabad. Maa-i-aa mohi karhay karh pachi-aa: in love of Maya, people fret and fret and burn themselves out. Maa-i-aa is the glittering surface of things that fades and cannot hold you up. Bin naavai bharam bharam bharam khapi-aa: without the Naam, wandering, wandering, wandering, they wear away. The word said three times sounds like walking in circles. Keep the Naam in mind, and the wandering settles.
What is something shiny you once wanted badly that stopped mattering later?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI