ਜਿਉ ਕਾਜਰ ਭਰਿ ਮੰਦਰੁ ਰਾਖਿਓ ਜੋ ਪੈਸੈ ਕਾਲੂਖੀ ਰੇ ॥
ji-o kaajar bhar mandar raakhi-o jo paisai kaalookhee ray.
One who enters a house filled with soot is blackened.
ਦੂਰਹੁ ਹੀ ਤੇ ਭਾਗਿ ਗਇਓ ਹੈ ਜਿਸੁ ਗੁਰ ਮਿਲਿ ਛੁਟਕੀ ਤ੍ਰਿਕੁਟੀ ਰੇ ॥੧॥
Dhoorahu hee tay bhaag ga-i-o hai jis gur mil chhutkee tarikutee ray. ||1||
Run far away from such people! One who meets the Guru escapes from the bondage of the three dispositions. ||1||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Walk into a house full of soot and you come out blackened.
So run far from such company. The one who meets the teaching escapes the pull of the three moods.
You can't sit in a sooty room and stay clean — company rubs off, so choose carefully where you spend your time.
The verse gives an unforgettable image: "one who enters a house filled with soot is blackened." You cannot spend time in a sooty room and stay clean; company rubs off. The counsel — "run far away from such people" — is practical, not judgmental: protect what you're becoming by choosing where you spend time. Character is contagious, for better and worse.
A Question to Sit With
What 'sooty rooms' do you linger in that leave a mark on you? What cleaner company could you choose?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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