Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
To such a heart, heaven and hardship, sweet nectar and bitter poison, gold and a copper coin — all look strangely the same, because none of them can shake it.
Praise and blame land alike; being fussed over and being ignored no longer run the show.
This one says nothing outside can shake a heart that rests deeper.
The verse sets up pairs. Surag narak is heaven and hell. Amrit bikh is nectar and poison. Kanchan ar paisaa is gold and a copper coin. Ustat nindaa is praise and blame. To the settled heart, ay sam, these are all alike.
Hell here is just the far end of a pair. It is not a scary picture. It stands for hard times, and the steady heart is not moved by them.
Think of a boat with a heavy keel underneath. Waves push it this way and that. It rocks, but it does not tip over.
This is inner freedom. The settled person is not cold. They are steady. They are not bought by pleasure or knocked over by loss.
If someone is being unkind to you or hurting you, that is never something you have to accept. Telling a grown-up you trust is always the right thing to do.
Whose good opinion do you most want? What would change if their praise and their criticism weighed the same?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI