Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
A mind can get coated over with a thick, greasy layer of "me first" — a sticky pride that clings.
The humble nearness of good company works on it like a gentle scrub, wearing that layer away until the mind comes clean.
Ahank-budh man poor thidhaa-ee — the mind is "full of the grease of egotistical pride." Thidhaa-ee means greasiness, an oily film — a vivid image for haumai, the ego, the feeling of being a separate self out for itself. Grease doesn't rinse off with plain water; it needs something that cuts it. Here that something is saadh dhoor, the humbling nearness of seekers, which "scrubs the mind clean" (sudh manjaa-ee). Ego is treated as grime to be gently removed, not a crime to be punished.
What softens your "me first" feeling and helps you see other people more clearly?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI