Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
I have set down my need to be strong, and sharp, and clever, and the puffed-up feeling that I am a separate someone who has to win. I laid it all down and simply took shelter in the holy company of the Oneness. Empty-handed, and glad to be.
Guru Arjan puts down everything the ego leans on, and he feels lighter.
Bal budh si-aanap ha-umai rahee — power, brains, cleverness, and haumai are given up. Haumai is the ego, the "I am separate and must win" feeling.
This is not hating yourself. It is the relief of coming to grace empty-handed. Think of carrying a heavy backpack all day, full of things you thought you needed. Then you set it down. Your shoulders feel free.
What takes the place of those props? Saran, shelter, in the saadh, the holy company. Letting go of haumai is like getting well from an illness. It is not owning up to a crime.
What would it feel like to stop having to prove yourself, even for a day?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI