ਗਉੜੀ ਪੂਰਬੀ ਮਹਲਾ ੪ ॥
ga-orhee poorbee mehlaa 4.
Gauree Poorbee, Fourth Mehl:
ਹਮ ਅਹੰਕਾਰੀ ਅਹੰਕਾਰ ਅਗਿਆਨ ਮਤਿ ਗੁਰਿ ਮਿਲਿਐ ਆਪੁ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥
ham ahaNkaaree ahaNkaar agi-aan mat gur mili-ai aap gavaa-i-aa.
I am egotistical and conceited, and my intellect is ignorant. Meeting the Guru, my selfishness and conceit have been abolished.
ਹਉਮੈ ਰੋਗੁ ਗਇਆ ਸੁਖੁ ਪਾਇਆ ਧਨੁ ਧੰਨੁ ਗੁਰੂ ਹਰਿ ਰਾਇਆ ॥੧॥
ha-umai rog ga-i-aa sukh paa-i-aa Dhan Dhan guroo har raa-i-aa. ||1||
The illness of egotism is gone, and I have found peace. Blessed, blessed is the Guru, the Sovereign Lord King. ||1||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
I was full of ego and conceit, and my thinking was foolish. Meeting the teacher, my selfishness was wiped away. The illness of ego is gone, and I have found peace. Blessed, blessed is the teacher.
Ego is an illness -- and meeting the teacher heals it into peace.
Ego named as an illness (cf. the Name as medicine) -- cured by meeting the Guru. The result is peace. Reading ego as a sickness to be healed rather than a sin to be punished is a pastoral application; the verse names the illness and its cure without drawing that contrast.
A Question to Sit With
What would it mean to treat your own ego as something to heal rather than hate?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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