Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Deep inside the mind there can be an illness — ego, the feeling of being a separate, walled-off self, which can leave a person confused and lost.
Nanak says: that illness heals when you meet the True Guru, the holy friend who helps you see clearly again.
Haumai rog hai — "ego is a disease." Ego is a condition to be healed, the way you would treat any illness — with care, not blame. The manmukh durjanaa ("self-turned, difficult ones") are bharam bhoolay — "wandering, lost in confusion" — a state of being lost, not evil. And the cure is warm and relational: mil satgur saadhoo sajnaa — you meet the True Guru as a sajan, a "dear friend." Healing comes through the friendship of someone who helps you find the path again, never as a solitary battle against yourself.
When you feel lost or stuck, who is a "wise friend" you could turn to?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI