Sikhism·Raag Gauree·Shabad 269
Verse 6 of 9

See Me Versus Them and You Get Sorrow

ਜਬ ਇਨਿ ਕਿਛੁ ਕਰਿ ਮਾਨੇ ਭੇਦਾ ॥
jab in kichh kar maanay bhaydaa.
When he perceives differences,
ਤਬ ਤੇ ਦੂਖ ਡੰਡ ਅਰੁ ਖੇਦਾ ॥
tab tay dookh dand ar khaydaa.
then he suffers pain, punishment and sorrow.
ਜਬ ਇਨਿ ਏਕੋ ਏਕੀ ਬੂਝਿਆ ॥
jab in ayko aykee boojhi-aa.
But when he recognizes the One and Only Lord,
ਤਬ ਤੇ ਇਸ ਨੋ ਸਭੁ ਕਿਛੁ ਸੂਝਿਆ ॥੫॥
tab tay is no sabh kichh soojhi-aa. ||5||
he understands everything. ||5||

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa

In plain words

As long as I carry the sense of 'me versus them,' I keep running into pain and sorrow.

But the moment I truly see there is only One -- one life shining through everyone -- suddenly everything makes sense.

Seeing 'me versus them' brings sorrow; seeing the One shining through everyone, everything falls into place.
The deeper layer

This one says: see "me versus them," and sorrow follows. See the One, and everything makes sense.

Jab in kichh kar maanay bhaydaa — when a person sees everyone as split apart. Bhaydaa means differences, walls between people. Tab tay dookh dand ar khaydaa — then comes pain, punishment, and sorrow. Dookh is pain and khaydaa is sorrow.

The one shift that heals it is ayko aykee boojhi-aa — understanding that there is only One. Then sabh kichh soojhi-aa, everything is understood.

This is the main claim. Seeing the Oneness is not one idea among many. It is the idea that puts every other idea in its place. Think of finding the picture on the puzzle box. Suddenly every loose piece has somewhere to go.

The suffering here grows naturally from believing we are separate. When that belief lifts, the suffering lifts too.

A Question to Sit With

When you really felt connected to someone, did the small hurts between you get smaller too?

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI

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