Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
The good and the wise are blessed; their lives shine clean and true.
This human life is a rare jewel — how sad to let it slip away, traded for cheap glass. It is far too precious for that.
A human life is a jewel, too precious to trade for glass.
The verse starts with the good and wise, utam sant. It calls them blessed, clean and true in this world. Then it turns: jaat akaarath janam padaarath kaach baadrai jeet — the jewel of this human life is slipping away, traded for glass.
The line is quiet and urgent. It does not say life is worthless. It says the opposite. Life is a jewel. That is exactly why spending it on cheap things that pass is such a loss. Imagine swapping a real diamond for a plastic gem from a toy machine. The plastic one sparkles too, for a day.
If your days were treasure, what would you most want to spend them on?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI