Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Think of the one who drove the sun's own chariot across the sky, brother to the king of all the birds. What grand company to keep.
And even he still carried a lasting mark from long before — something no high position could undo. Where you stand today doesn't cancel the road that brought you here.
A high position does not undo the results of the past.
Bisav kaa deepak savaamee taa chay ray su-aarthee: his master was the sun, the deepak, the lamp of the world, and he was its su-aarthee, its chariot driver. Pankhee raa-ay garurh taa chay baaDhvaa: Garurh, the king of birds, was his brother. This is Aruna, kin to greatness.
Yet because of his karam, his past deeds, Aruna carried a lasting mark. Think of a scar from an old fall. You can win every race after that, and the scar is still there. High station sits alongside the past. It does not erase it.
Why might it be tempting to think success should cancel our earlier mistakes?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI