Do not tangle your whole self in what slips away in a moment.
The Arc
The Rahau: without the One, our chasing adds up to little, and the very shine of things leads us in circles. The verses warn gently — riches and comforts leave in an instant; pride is a straw castle over a fire; five inner pulls run the show when we are half-asleep — and turn, at the close, to freedom: like a bird caught in a net, the cords are cut by holding the teacher and the One in mind.
Key Vocabulary
bin har kaam na aavat: without the One, little avails
mohnee: the enticer, Maya
trin ko mandar: a straw palace
panch doot: the five pulls
banDhan kaatan: bonds cut
Themes and Cross-Connections
The impermanent set against the real, the five pulls seen as habits to notice, and the Guru who frees.
For Raag Bilaaval
Even a warning shabad lands, in this raag, on release rather than dread.
Translation Notes
SSK carries strong imagery — a possessed woman, a stubborn fool, the five thieves seizing by the hair, and death. Per the wellbeing rules the gendered possession, self-condemnation, and death-terror are set aside; the teaching of impermanence, the five inner pulls, waking up, and the cords cut is kept and bent toward hope.
Do not tangle your whole self in what slips away in a moment.
The Arc
The Rahau: without the One, our chasing adds up to little, and the very shine of things leads us in circles. The verses warn gently — riches and comforts leave in an instant; pride is a straw castle over a fire; five inner pulls run the show when we are half-asleep — and turn, at the close, to freedom: like a bird caught in a net, the cords are cut by holding the teacher and the One in mind.
Key Vocabulary
Themes and Cross-Connections
The impermanent set against the real, the five pulls seen as habits to notice, and the Guru who frees.
For Raag Bilaaval
Even a warning shabad lands, in this raag, on release rather than dread.
Translation Notes
SSK carries strong imagery — a possessed woman, a stubborn fool, the five thieves seizing by the hair, and death. Per the wellbeing rules the gendered possession, self-condemnation, and death-terror are set aside; the teaching of impermanence, the five inner pulls, waking up, and the cords cut is kept and bent toward hope.
Last updated: 2026-07-08