ਗਉੜੀ ਚੇਤੀ ਮਹਲਾ ੧ ॥
ga-orhee chaytee mehlaa 1.
Gauree Chaytee, First Mehl:
ਅਵਰਿ ਪੰਚ ਹਮ ਏਕ ਜਨਾ ਕਿਉ ਰਾਖਉ ਘਰ ਬਾਰੁ ਮਨਾ ॥
avar panch ham ayk janaa ki-o raakha-o ghar baar manaa.
There are five of them, but I am all alone. How can I protect my hearth and home, O my mind?
ਮਾਰਹਿ ਲੂਟਹਿ ਨੀਤ ਨੀਤ ਕਿਸੁ ਆਗੈ ਕਰੀ ਪੁਕਾਰ ਜਨਾ ॥੧॥
maareh looteh neet neet kis aagai karee pukaar janaa. ||1||
They are beating and plundering me over and over again; unto whom can I complain? ||1||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
There are five of them and only one of me. How am I supposed to guard my own home and heart, my mind? They knock me down and rob me again and again -- and who is there even to complain to?
The five passions gang up; you cannot guard your heart against them alone.
The five are traditionally listed as the panch vikaar -- lust, anger, greed, attachment, ego -- imagined here as bandits raiding a lone householder. Nanak voices the real felt helplessness of trying to fight them alone. The unanswered "to whom can I complain?" sets up the refrain's answer: the Name.
A Question to Sit With
Which of the "five" -- desire, anger, greed, clinging, ego -- shows up most often for you?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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