ਗਉੜੀ ਬੈਰਾਗਣਿ ਮਹਲਾ ੧ ॥
ga-orhee bairaagan mehlaa 1.
Gauree Bairaagan, First Mehl:
ਰੈਣਿ ਗਵਾਈ ਸੋਇ ਕੈ ਦਿਵਸੁ ਗਵਾਇਆ ਖਾਇ ॥
rain gavaa-ee so-ay kai divas gavaa-i-aa khaa-ay.
The nights are wasted sleeping, and the days are wasted eating.
ਹੀਰੇ ਜੈਸਾ ਜਨਮੁ ਹੈ ਕਉਡੀ ਬਦਲੇ ਜਾਇ ॥੧॥
heeray jaisaa janam hai ka-udee badlay jaa-ay. ||1||
Human life is such a precious jewel, but it is being lost in exchange for a mere shell. ||1||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
The nights slip away in sleep, the days slip away in eating. This human life is a priceless jewel, and we are trading it away for a worthless shell.
Human life is a jewel -- do not trade it away for the price of a shell.
Bairaagan is traditionally associated with detachment-longing. The opening is one of Gurbani's most quoted laments: the jewel of human life bartered for a cowrie shell -- the cheapest coin. Sleep and food stand for a life lived on autopilot, never woken to its own value.
A Question to Sit With
What is the most precious thing you might be treating as ordinary?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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