Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
When my mind fills up with pride, I think I am better than everyone. Then I wander around lost and restless, like a stranger to my own life.
But then I become humble. I am gentle enough to bow to everyone, like dust the whole world can walk on. And something opens: I begin to see the same One shining inside every single heart.
This one says pride makes you a stranger in your own life, and humility lets you see the One in every heart.
Guru Arjan sets up a clear before-and-after. Jab ih man meh karat gumaanaa — when the mind is full of pride. Gumaanaa means pride. Tab ih baavar firat bigaanaa — then it wanders like a lost stranger, restless and out of place.
The cure is sagal kee reenaa, "the dust of all." It is a picture of the deepest humility. You are willing to be beneath everyone, and you hold no one below you. Think of the grass on a school field. Everyone runs on it, and it holds them all up.
The reward is not a private prize. Taa tay rama-ee-aa ghat ghat cheenaa — then you recognize the One in each and every heart. Humility clears your eyes to see what pride was hiding.
This is haumai, the feeling of being separate and better, melting away. It is not a crime to be punished. It is a mistaken way of seeing, and it lifts.
What do you stop being able to see about other people when you are sure you are better than them?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI