Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Chasing after every taste and craving can quietly wear a person down. It is the way a fish is undone by the very thing it wanted.
There are five inner thieves that can push me around, like anger and greed.
But I slip free of all of them in the shelter of the One.
Guru Arjan says that the pulls that push us around lose their grip when we take shelter in the One.
Jaisay meen rasan saad binsi-o — like the fish that is ruined by its love of taste. Greed works the same way on a person who doesn't stop to think. Then come the panch, the five. These are five inner thieves: selfish desire, anger, greed, clinging, and pride. They sneak in and rob the heart of peace.
Think of five pickpockets in a crowded market. You barely notice them, but your pockets end up empty. Chhooteh par sarnaa-ilay — you get free by taking refuge with the One. Sarnaa means shelter. The way out is not shame. It is shelter.
Which of these inner tugs — anger, wanting, holding on — do you feel most often?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI