Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
I gathered the five restless pulls of the senses and brought them together under one steady mind.
When even the ten wandering urges learned to listen, then I became a clear and clean seeker of union.
This one says true mastery means gathering your scattered attention into one.
A yogi collects students and trains the senses. Guru Arjan moves all of this inside.
Panch chaylay mil bha-ay iktaraa — "the five disciples came together." The five disciples are the five senses: seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching. Aykas kai vas kee-ay — they are brought under the one: one steady mind, turned to the One.
Das bairaagan aagi-aakaaree — "the ten hermits became obedient." The ten are the parts of us that sense and act. Now they listen.
Tab nirmal jogee thee-ay — "then I became a pure yogi." Nirmal means clean, spotless.
Think of trying to do homework with ten apps pinging at once. When you turn them all toward one task, the work finally flows. Real yoga is this inner mastery. It is not running away from the world. It is gathering all your scattered energy toward the One.
When your attention is pulled in ten directions at once, what helps you gather it back together?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI