Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Ego and the chase after illusion — always wanting more, more, more — leave a person feeling like they are constantly losing something, no matter how much they gather.
But there is a real profit to be earned: the wealth of the Name, gathered by turning toward the teaching and reflecting on its Word.
When the film of ego is washed off, the heart fills instead with something sweet and living — the One held close inside.
For the one who turns toward the teaching, everything comes together and works out; grace has been poured over them. Whoever meets the Source stays joined to it.
Ego and chasing things always feel like losing, but the Name is a treasure that stays, and it washes the ego away.
Here ego is treated like a sickness to heal, not a crime to punish. Haumai is ego, the loud "me, me, me" inside. Haumai maaiaa sabh bikh hai: ego and illusion are poison. Maaiaa is illusion, the glittering surface of things that pulls us in.
But the cure is gentle. Har amrit har ur dhaar: hold the sweet, living One in your heart. Then the mail, the grime of ego, utrai. It simply washes off, like mud off your shoes in the rain.
The verse uses the words of a shop. Chasing maaiaa always feels like totaa, a loss. However much you collect, it feels like something is missing. The Name is the one laahaa, the one profit that stays with you.
The last line keeps grace first. Jo dhur milay: those who meet the Source meet it because grace was poured over them, kirpaa dhaar. They did not win it by out-working everyone else.
Can you think of a time you got something you wanted, but still felt like you wanted more? What was that really about?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI