Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Wanting can wrap around you tight, the way a vine wraps a tree, until you can barely move. And ego — haumai, the feeling that you are a separate little self who has to grab everything for itself — is like a moth circling a flame, dazzled, forgetting itself completely.
You can dress up on the outside all you want, but that will not bring you home. It is when kindness reaches you that the Guru leads you the rest of the way.
Wanting can trap us, and kindness sets us free.
Paa-i-aa vayrh maa-i-aa sarab bhu-i-angaa — Maya holds everyone in its coils, like a snake. Think of a vine wrapped round and round a tree. Then comes a second picture, a moth and a flame: ha-umai pachay deepak daykh patangaa. Ha-umai is ego, the feeling of being a separate little self that grabs for itself. The moth is so dazzled by the lamp that it forgets everything else.
Sagal seegaar karay nahee paavai — dressing up on the outside doesn't bring you to the One. You can't decorate your way in. Jaa ho-ay kirpaal taa guroo milaavai — when mercy comes, the Guru brings you to meet the One. Kindness comes first, and the meeting follows.
Have you ever tried to look a certain way on the outside to feel okay on the inside? Did it work?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI