Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
A mind left to itself can lose its way, wandering without the Name to steady it.
Without the teaching the mind will not hold still, and keeps circling back to its old restless patterns.
But when the One turns kind, the teaching comes to meet you.
Praise the Name, and the ache of coming and going eases and lifts away.
A Shalok of the Fourth Mehl on the restless mind. The literal calls the manmukh "foolish" (mugaDh); per the guidelines this is rendered gently — not "foolish person" but a mind "left to itself" that "loses its way." Without a steadying anchor the mind "will not hold still" and keeps "circling back," which is exactly the human experience of falling into old grooves. The turn comes through kindness, not effort: aap da-i-aal hohi — when the One turns kind, the teaching simply arrives. The literal's "birth and death, over and over" (joonee) is softened to "the ache of coming and going," pointing at the restlessness of an unsettled mind rather than a frightening cycle.
What thoughts or habits do you find yourself circling back to? What helps your mind settle when it will not hold still?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI