Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
You live so comfortably in this sweet, healthy body, but the whole world is just a show that is passing through. You fill your days with greed and grabbing and lies, loading yourself with a heavy weight. And I have watched bodies like yours scatter and blow away like dust on the ground.
This body and this world are here only for a while, so every day is precious.
Chaytee is the name of this style of Gauree. Guru Nanak speaks straight to the body. You live in comfort in this amrit kaa-i-aa, a sweet, nectar-like body. But baajee ih sansaaro — this world is only a passing show. The opening shabad of Gauree called it that too.
Lab lobh much koorh kamaaveh — you pile up greed, grabbing and lies. Bahut uthaaveh bhaaro — you carry a heavy load. Then comes the hard truth: the body blows away like dust on the ground.
Think of a sandcastle built on a sunny afternoon. It is lovely, and the tide still comes. Guru Nanak says this plainly, and with care rather than cruelty. The point is to wake the sleeper while there is still time.
What do we spend a lot of energy on that will not last? What actually lasts?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI