Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
If you pour your whole devotion into the ever-changing world of things, you stay tied to the ever-changing.
You rise and fall with it, and never quite come to rest.
Namdev says that where you drop your anchor decides whether you can rest.
Mahaa maa-ee kee poojaa karai — someone worships the Great Mother. In this verse she stands for Maya, the shiny, always-changing world of things. If you tie your deepest hope to something that keeps changing, you keep changing with it.
Picture a boat tied to a floating log. When the log drifts, the boat drifts too. Tie it to a strong rock, and it holds still.
The second line of the verse speaks of being born again as a woman instead of a man. That picture comes from its own time. Here is what is always true: a girl is worth every bit as much as a boy. The lasting point is about the anchor. You can tie your heart to the shifting world, or to the One who never shifts.
What in your life feels steady enough to lean on when everything else is changing?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI