Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
By their own choices, a person ties themselves in tangles. Those are the very ropes that hold them.
And the things they clung to so tightly cannot go with them.
The tightest ropes are the ones we tie ourselves, so we can also loosen them.
Apan kamaa-i-ai aapay baaDhay — by their own doings, they tie themselves up. This is a clear, gentle picture of how results follow choices. No outside bully ties us up. We knot ourselves with our own choices. It is like a kite string you keep twisting until it becomes one big tangle.
Darab ga-i-aa — the wealth they clung to slips away anyway. Darab means wealth, money and things. The verse is a call to freedom, not a telling-off. The ropes are our own, which means they can be loosened. Choose what sets you free.
Is there a "rope" you've tied yourself with — a habit or choice — that you could begin to loosen?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI