Do not tangle your whole self in what slips away in a moment.
The Arc
Think of the thing you wanted most last year. A game, a phone, a pair of shoes. Does it still shine the same way? Gold, comfort and a nice bed are all here for a moment and then left behind. Pride built on them is like a straw castle with a fire lit underneath. Inside you, five pulls push you around: wanting, anger, greed, clinging and pride. When you are half-asleep, you do not even see them steering. The world spreads its net and scatters bait, the way a bird gets caught. Keep the Guru and the One in mind, and the cords are cut. At the centre, the Rahao: only the One is of any use, while the shimmer of things keeps luring us along.
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.
Hukumnama
Subject: Only the One is of any use in the end Preview: gold and a soft bed left in a moment, a straw castle over a fire, five pulls, and a bird's net cut.
Today: Think of the thing you wanted most last year. A game, a phone, a pair of shoes. Does it still shine the same way? Gold, comfort and a nice bed are all here for a moment and then left behind. Pride built on them is like a straw castle with a fire lit underneath. Inside you, five pulls push you around: wanting, anger, greed, clinging and pride. When you are half-asleep, you do not even see them steering. The world spreads its net and scatters bait, the way a bird gets caught. Keep the Guru and the One in mind, and the cords are cut.
Only the One is of any use in the end.
For today: Before you buy or chase something today, pause and ask whether it will still matter next month.
Do not tangle your whole self in what slips away in a moment.
The Arc
Think of the thing you wanted most last year. A game, a phone, a pair of shoes. Does it still shine the same way? Gold, comfort and a nice bed are all here for a moment and then left behind. Pride built on them is like a straw castle with a fire lit underneath. Inside you, five pulls push you around: wanting, anger, greed, clinging and pride. When you are half-asleep, you do not even see them steering. The world spreads its net and scatters bait, the way a bird gets caught. Keep the Guru and the One in mind, and the cords are cut. At the centre, the Rahao: only the One is of any use, while the shimmer of things keeps luring us along.
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.
Hukumnama
Subject: Only the One is of any use in the end Preview: gold and a soft bed left in a moment, a straw castle over a fire, five pulls, and a bird's net cut.
Today: Think of the thing you wanted most last year. A game, a phone, a pair of shoes. Does it still shine the same way? Gold, comfort and a nice bed are all here for a moment and then left behind. Pride built on them is like a straw castle with a fire lit underneath. Inside you, five pulls push you around: wanting, anger, greed, clinging and pride. When you are half-asleep, you do not even see them steering. The world spreads its net and scatters bait, the way a bird gets caught. Keep the Guru and the One in mind, and the cords are cut.
Only the One is of any use in the end.
For today: Before you buy or chase something today, pause and ask whether it will still matter next month.