Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
When someone starts believing deep down, “I have become somebody special,” they get quietly stuck. They are like a bird so busy admiring itself that it doesn’t notice the trap.
Someone may say inside, “Look how holy I am, look what a teacher I am.” The very showing-off empties it out. And someone who preaches big words just to be seen is only wandering, selling something they don’t own.
But Nanak says: the one who quietly lets go of “I, me,” in the Sangat meets the One. The door opens the moment the showing-off is set down.
The moment you start believing "I've become somebody," you get stuck; the moment you set the showing-off down, the door to the One opens.
This is the verse for the letter Jajja, and it is about ego. It is more playful than harsh. The hook is jajaa jaanai ha-o kachh hoo-aa — when someone thinks, "I have become something." The picture is a soo-aa, a parrot, baaDhi-o ji-o nalinee, caught in a trap. It is so pleased with itself that it gets snared.
The verse gently shows up spiritual pride. Ha-o bhagat gi-aanee — "I am a devotee, a wise teacher." Mai kathnee kartaa — "I am a preacher." Such a person is really a bi-aapaaree, a peddler, wandering the earth and selling. None of this is treated as a crime. It is the comedy of being too full of yourself. Think of someone who keeps telling everyone how humble they are.
The answer is saaDhsang jih ha-umai maaree. That is the one who beats ha-umai, the sense of a separate "me," in the Sangat. Naanak taa ka-o milay muraaree — that person meets the One. The moment you stop performing your goodness, the real thing becomes possible. Ego is like an illness to be healed.
Have you noticed how doing something good can feel different when you’re showing it off versus when it’s just quietly you?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI