Sikhism·Raag Gauree·Shabad 295
Verse 37 of 136

Always Wanting More Feels Like Losing

ਮਃ ੪ ॥
mehlaa 4.
Fourth Mehl:
ਹਉਮੈ ਮਾਇਆ ਸਭ ਬਿਖੁ ਹੈ ਨਿਤ ਜਗਿ ਤੋਟਾ ਸੰਸਾਰਿ ॥
ha-umai maa-i-aa sabh bikh hai nit jag totaa sansaar.
Egotism and Maya are total poison; in these, people continually suffer loss in this world.
ਲਾਹਾ ਹਰਿ ਧਨੁ ਖਟਿਆ ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਸਬਦੁ ਵੀਚਾਰਿ ॥
laahaa har Dhan khati-aa gurmukh sabad veechaar.
The Gurmukh earns the profit of the wealth of the Lord's Name, contemplating the Word of the Shabad.
ਹਉਮੈ ਮੈਲੁ ਬਿਖੁ ਉਤਰੈ ਹਰਿ ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤੁ ਹਰਿ ਉਰ ਧਾਰਿ ॥
ha-umai mail bikh utrai har amrit har ur Dhaar.
The poisonous filth of egotism is removed, when one enshrines the Ambrosial Name of the Lord within the heart.
ਸਭਿ ਕਾਰਜ ਤਿਨ ਕੇ ਸਿਧਿ ਹਹਿ ਜਿਨ ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਕਿਰਪਾ ਧਾਰਿ ॥
sabh kaaraj tin kay siDh heh jin gurmukh kirpaa Dhaar.
All the Gurmukh's affairs are brought to perfect completion; the Lord has showered him with His Mercy.
ਨਾਨਕ ਜੋ ਧੁਰਿ ਮਿਲੇ ਸੇ ਮਿਲਿ ਰਹੇ ਹਰਿ ਮੇਲੇ ਸਿਰਜਣਹਾਰਿ ॥੨॥
naanak jo Dhur milay say mil rahay har maylay sirjanhaar. ||2||
O Nanak, one who meets the Primal Lord remains blended with the Lord, the Creator Lord. ||2||

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa

In plain words

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.

Always wanting more feels like losing; the film of ego washes off the moment you hold the One close.
The deeper layer

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.

A Question to Sit With

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

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