ਆਪਿ ਭੁਲਾ ਕਿ ਪ੍ਰਭਿ ਆਪਿ ਭੁਲਾਇਆ ॥
aap bhulaa ke parabh aap bhulaa-i-aa.
Does he himself go astray, or does God lead him astray?
ਇਹੁ ਜੀਉ ਵਿਡਾਣੀ ਚਾਕਰੀ ਲਾਇਆ ॥
ih jee-o vidaanee chaakree laa-i-aa.
This soul is enjoined to the service of someone else.
ਮਹਾ ਦੁਖੁ ਖਟੇ ਬਿਰਥਾ ਜਨਮੁ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥੩॥
mahaa dukh khatay birthaa janam gavaa-i-aa. ||3||
It earns only terrible pain, and this life is lost in vain. ||3||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Does a person wander off on their own, or does the One let them wander? Somehow the soul ends up serving the wrong master, earning only pain, and the life is lost.
However it happens, serving the wrong master only earns pain.
Amar Das holds the hard Hukam question honestly: is straying the soul's fault or the One's allowing? He does not resolve it cheaply. What is clear is the result: serving someone other than the One earns pain and a wasted life. The mystery of agency is left open; the consequence is not.
A Question to Sit With
Who or what have you served that did not deserve it? What did it cost?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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