ਆਪਣ ਲੀਆ ਜੇ ਮਿਲੈ ਤਾ ਸਭੁ ਕੋ ਭਾਗਠੁ ਹੋਇ ॥
aapan lee-aa jay milai taa sabh ko bhaagath ho-ay.
If people could gather it in by their own efforts, then everyone would be so lucky.
ਕਰਮਾ ਉਪਰਿ ਨਿਬੜੈ ਜੇ ਲੋਚੈ ਸਭੁ ਕੋਇ ॥੩॥
karmaa upar nibrhai jay lochai sabh ko-ay. ||3||
According to the karma of past actions, one's destiny unfolds, even though everyone wants to be so lucky. ||3||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
If you could grab good fortune just by trying hard, everyone would have it. But what unfolds follows the seeds already planted -- even though everyone wishes for luck.
You cannot simply grab good fortune by force -- much unfolds beyond your effort.
Nanak distinguishes effort from grace and destiny. Outcomes are not simply willed into being; they unfold according to karma and the One's Hukam. This is not an excuse for passivity but a humbling of the ego's belief that hard striving guarantees results -- it sets up the next pauri's surrender.
A Question to Sit With
When has trying harder not been enough? How did you make peace with that?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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