ਮਦਿ ਮਾਇਆ ਕੈ ਭਇਓ ਬਾਵਰੋ ਹਰਿ ਜਸੁ ਨਹਿ ਉਚਰੈ ॥
mad maa-i-aa kai bha-i-o baavro har jas neh uchrai.
It has gone insane with the intoxication of Maya; it does not chant the Lord's Praise.
ਕਰਿ ਪਰਪੰਚੁ ਜਗਤ ਕਉ ਡਹਕੈ ਅਪਨੋ ਉਦਰੁ ਭਰੈ ॥੧॥
kar parpanch jagat ka-o dahkai apno udar bharai. ||1||
Practicing deception, it tries to cheat the world, and so it fills its belly. ||1||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Drunk on the glitter, it has lost its senses, and it won't sing the One's praise.
It plays tricks and tries to cheat the world, just to fill its belly.
The untended mind defaults to small self-interest and scheming — so absorbed in getting that it forgets the larger thing.
The verse diagnoses the unruly mind's condition: "insane with the intoxication of Maya," so absorbed in getting and scheming that it "does not chant the Lord's Praise." The mind's tricks are aimed at mere survival and gain ("fills its belly"). Mehl 9's sober voice sees clearly how the untended mind defaults to small self-interest and forgets the larger thing.
A Question to Sit With
When your mind is 'drunk' on getting and scheming, what larger thing does it forget?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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