Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
As long as I keep insisting "me, me, mine, mine," I never quite touch what is real and true. But the moment that loud little "me" grows quiet, something wonderful opens up — the highest, calmest, most dignified state a person can know.
This one says: when the loud "me" goes quiet, the highest peace opens up.
This is the rahaa-o, the "pause" line, the center of the shabad. The whole song turns on it. Ha-o ha-o karat nahee sach paa-ee-ai — saying "I, I" all the time, you do not reach the True One. Ha-o means "I." It is the ego talking about itself without a break. Sach means the real and true.
The turn comes in the second line. Ha-umai jaa-ay param pad paa-ee-ai — when the ego leaves, the highest state is reached. Param pad means the supreme state.
Look closely at what the line says. The ego is not crushed or punished. It simply leaves, and the highest state is there. Many teachers read that as uncovering something that was always there. Think of clouds moving off the sun. The sun was shining the whole time.
What does it feel like inside when you stop trying to prove you are special and just let yourself be?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI