Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Whoever wins over their own self wins the battle of life. The one who steadies their own mind has won.
This is the brave work: to face down ego (haumai — the feeling that you are a separate, cut-off self) and the sense of being all alone, and to let that illusion fall away while you are fully alive, through the teaching of the Perfect Guru. Such a heart meets the One and wears honor like a robe.
They call nothing "only mine"; their one support is the One. Day and night they keep the One in mind. They make their heart humble as dust, gentle toward all — and understanding the flow of existence, Nanak says, they rest in a peace that lasts.
The great victory is a quiet one: steadying your own heart and letting the "separate me" soften, so you can rest in the flow of existence.
This is the verse for the letter Nanna, the "win over yourself" verse. Naanaa ran tay seejhee-ai aatam jeetai ko-ay — the one who wins over their own self wins the battle of life.
Then a striking phrase: jeevat marai, to die while still alive. It means letting the feeling of a separate, cut-off self fall away while you are fully alive. That feeling is haumai, ego. Think of a snake slipping out of its old skin. It is the same snake, only freer.
Manee mitaa-ay is erasing pride. Rayn sagal i-aa man karai is making your mind like dust under everyone's feet, humble toward all. Beside these sits the crowning line: hukmai boojhai sadaa sukh. Understanding Hukam, the flow of existence, brings lasting peace.
The battle words stay, but they point only inward. The enemy is your own pride, never another person. These battle words are never a reason to look down on anyone else.
What is one thing about your own mind — a worry, a temper, a jealousy — that feels harder to master than any outside challenge?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI