Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
"I'm earning so much. I'm getting ahead." And meanwhile the days quietly slip by. "I'm the strong one, the important one. Nobody's quite like me."
Listen to the ego talking to itself, and notice how the days slip by while it talks.
The first line here is the Rahao, the "pause" line. It is the center of the whole shabad. Ha-o sancha-o ha-o khaattaa saglee avaDh bihaanee — I am saving up, I am earning, and all the while my life passes by. Then the next verse: ha-o sooraa parDhaan — I am the hero, I am the chief. No one is equal to me.
Hear the word ha-o again and again? It means "I." "I, I, I." That is haumai, the me-first feeling, caught in the act. It is like a kid shouting "I'm winning, I'm the best!" at a video game while dinner goes cold.
The verse shows this so we can notice it in ourselves with a smile. It is a habit to see, not a sin to scold.
Have you ever caught your own mind bragging to itself? What was it saying?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI