ਗਉੜੀ ਗੁਆਰੇਰੀ ਮਹਲਾ ੫ ॥
ga-orhee gu-aarayree mehlaa 5.
Gauree Gwaarayree, Fifth Mehl:
ਕਈ ਜਨਮ ਭਏ ਕੀਟ ਪਤੰਗਾ ॥
ka-ee janam bha-ay keet patangaa.
In so many incarnations, you were a worm and an insect;
ਕਈ ਜਨਮ ਗਜ ਮੀਨ ਕੁਰੰਗਾ ॥
ka-ee janam gaj meen kurangaa.
in so many incarnations, you were an elephant, a fish and a deer.
ਕਈ ਜਨਮ ਪੰਖੀ ਸਰਪ ਹੋਇਓ ॥
ka-ee janam pankhee sarap ho-i-o.
In so many incarnations, you were a bird and a snake.
ਕਈ ਜਨਮ ਹੈਵਰ ਬ੍ਰਿਖ ਜੋਇਓ ॥੧॥
ka-ee janam haivar barikh jo-i-o. ||1||
In so many incarnations, you were yoked as an ox and a horse. ||1||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
For so many lives you were a worm, an insect. For so many lives, an elephant, a fish, a deer. For so many lives, a bird, a snake. For so many lives, yoked like an ox or a horse.
The soul has been worm, fish, bird, beast -- through countless lives before this one.
The transmigration catalogue (cf. the earlier confession shabads): the soul's long journey through countless forms. Guru Arjan piles up the lives to make one point -- the staggering rarity of arriving, finally, at human birth.
A Question to Sit With
If your life is the rare result of a long journey, how does that change its value?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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