ਗਉੜੀ ਚੇਤੀ ਮਹਲਾ ੧ ॥
ga-orhee chaytee mehlaa 1.
Gauree Chaytee, First Mehl:
ਮੁੰਦ੍ਰਾ ਤੇ ਘਟ ਭੀਤਰਿ ਮੁੰਦ੍ਰਾ ਕਾਂਇਆ ਕੀਜੈ ਖਿੰਥਾਤਾ ॥
mundraa tay ghat bheetar mundraa kaaN-i-aa keejai khinthaataa.
Let your ear-rings be those ear-rings which pierce deep within your heart. Let your body be your patched coat.
ਪੰਚ ਚੇਲੇ ਵਸਿ ਕੀਜਹਿ ਰਾਵਲ ਇਹੁ ਮਨੁ ਕੀਜੈ ਡੰਡਾਤਾ ॥੧॥
panch chaylay vas keejeh raaval ih man keejai dandaataa. ||1||
Let the five passions be disciples under your control, O begging Yogi, and make this mind your walking stick. ||1||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Let your real earrings be the ones that pierce deep into your heart. Let your own body be your patched robe. Make the five passions your students, under your command, and let a steady mind be your walking stick.
Real yoga is inward -- and the five passions become your students, not your enemies.
Nanak addresses a Yogi and re-reads every external symbol of yoga as an inner practice (a move he makes throughout, especially in Japji). The earrings, the patched coat, the staff -- all the props -- become inner disciplines. Most strikingly, the five passions are not killed but tamed into disciples under control: mastery, not warfare.
A Question to Sit With
Instead of fighting a strong feeling, what would it look like to make it "serve" you?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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