Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
As long as the grasping self stays in charge, the real work doesn't get done.
The mind gets pulled around by trouble-making habits — the muddle of poor thinking and the old feeling of "me against everything."
But when the mind softens and gives in, guided by the teaching, it becomes whole — one, at last.
This one says that as long as the grabby, me-first self is in charge, the real work does not get done.
This is the opening of an ashtapadee, a hymn of eight verses, by Guru Nanak. Naa man marai na kaaraj ho-ay — until the grasping mind quiets down and gives in, the soul's real work stalls.
The verse names two dootaa, troublemakers, that hold the mind. One is durmat, muddled thinking. The other is do-ay, duality: the feeling of being separate, "me against everything." These are pulls inside us, not real monsters.
Then the turn: man maanai gur tay ik ho-ay — when the mind accepts, through the Guru, it becomes ik, one. Maanai is close to Mannai in Japji: deep acceptance, the whole self lining up, not just believing something. Think of a team where everyone finally stops arguing and plays together. Suddenly the goal is within reach.
What happens to your best work when you're only trying to win or look good, versus when you let that go?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI