aapnaa aap na pachhaanai moorhaa avraa aakhdukhaa-ay.
The fool does not understand his own self; he annoys others with his speech.
ਮੁੰਢੈ ਦੀ ਖਸਲਤਿ ਨ ਗਈਆ ਅੰਧੇ ਵਿਛੁੜਿ ਚੋਟਾ ਖਾਏ ॥
mundhai dee khaslat na ga-ee-aa anDhay vichhurh chotaa khaa-ay.
His underlying nature does not leave him; separated from the Lord, he suffers cruel blows.
ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਕੈ ਭੈ ਭੰਨਿ ਨ ਘੜਿਓ ਰਹੈ ਅੰਕਿ ਸਮਾਏ ॥
satgur kai bhai bhann na gharhi-o rahai ank samaa-ay.
Through the fear of the True Guru, he has not changed and reformed himself, so that he might merge in the lap of God.
ਅਨਦਿਨੁ ਸਹਸਾ ਕਦੇ ਨ ਚੂਕੈ ਬਿਨੁ ਸਬਦੈ ਦੁਖੁ ਪਾਏ ॥
an-din sahsaa kaday na chookai bin sabdai dukh paa-ay.
Night and day, his doubts never stop; without the Word of the Shabad, he suffers in pain.
ਕਾਮੁ ਕ੍ਰੋਧੁ ਲੋਭੁ ਅੰਤਰਿ ਸਬਲਾ ਨਿਤ ਧੰਧਾ ਕਰਤ ਵਿਹਾਏ ॥
kaam kroDh lobh antar sablaa nitDhanDhaa karat vihaa-ay.
Sexual desire, anger and greed are so powerful within him; he passes his life constantly entangled in worldly affairs.
ਚਰਣ ਕਰ ਦੇਖਤ ਸੁਣਿ ਥਕੇ ਦਿਹ ਮੁਕੇ ਨੇੜੈ ਆਏ ॥
charan kar daykhat sun thakay dih mukay nayrhai aa-ay.
His feet, hands, eyes and ears are exhausted; his days are numbered, and his death is immanent.
ਸਚਾ ਨਾਮੁ ਨ ਲਗੋ ਮੀਠਾ ਜਿਤੁ ਨਾਮਿ ਨਵ ਨਿਧਿ ਪਾਏ ॥
sachaa naam na lago meethaa jit naam nav niDh paa-ay.
The True Name does not seem sweet to him - the Name by which the nine treasures are obtained.
ਜੀਵਤੁ ਮਰੈ ਮਰੈ ਫੁਨਿ ਜੀਵੈ ਤਾਂ ਮੋਖੰਤਰੁ ਪਾਏ ॥
jeevat marai marai fun jeevai taaN mokhantar paa-ay.
But if he remains dead while yet alive, then by so dying, he truly lives; thus, he attains liberation.
ਧੁਰਿ ਕਰਮੁ ਨ ਪਾਇਓ ਪਰਾਣੀ ਵਿਣੁ ਕਰਮਾ ਕਿਆ ਪਾਏ ॥
Dhur karam na paa-i-o paraanee vin karmaa ki-aa paa-ay.
But if he is not blessed with such pre-ordained karma, then without this karma, what can he obtain?
ਗੁਰ ਕਾ ਸਬਦੁ ਸਮਾਲਿ ਤੂ ਮੂੜੇ ਗਤਿ ਮਤਿ ਸਬਦੇ ਪਾਏ ॥
gur kaa sabad samaal too moorhay gat mat sabday paa-ay.
Meditate in remembrance on the Word of the Guru's Shabad, you fool; through the Shabad, you shall obtain salvation and wisdom.
ਨਾਨਕ ਸਤਿਗੁਰੁ ਤਦ ਹੀ ਪਾਏ ਜਾਂ ਵਿਚਹੁ ਆਪੁ ਗਵਾਏ ॥੨॥
naanak satgur tad hee paa-ay jaaN vichahu aap gavaa-ay. ||2||
O Nanak, he alone finds the True Guru, who eliminates self-conceit from within. ||2||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
In plain words
When we don't understand ourselves, we can bump up against everyone around us.
Big feelings — wanting, anger, grabbiness — can tangle a whole life in knots.
But here's a secret worth keeping: let the loud, greedy 'me-first' voice go quiet, and you truly start to live.
Returning to good, true words clears the fog and brings a real kind of freedom.
Let the loud, me-first voice go quiet, and — surprise — you truly come alive.
The deeper layer
A longer Shalok whose heart is one of Gurbani's central paradoxes: jeevat marnaa — "if he remains dead while yet alive, then by so dying he truly lives." To "die while alive" means letting the ego — the loud, grabbing, me-first self — go quiet, so the real, connected self can live. It is not morbid; it is the most alive thing there is. The Shalok's earlier lines honestly diagnose the ego-tangled life ("annoys others," "doubts never stop," "lust, anger, greed so powerful"), but the whole thing pivots on that secret: quiet the ego, and you come alive. The word "fool" (moorakh) is softened to "we" — a state we all know.
A Question to Sit With
When has putting yourself last actually made you feel more free and happy, not less?
