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Sikhism·Raag Goojaree·Shabad 57
Verse 36 of 66

The Real Demons Are Our Own Compulsions

ਪਉੜੀ ॥
pa-orhee.
Pauree:
ਮਾਇਆ ਮੋਹੁ ਪਰੇਤੁ ਹੈ ਕਾਮੁ ਕ੍ਰੋਧੁ ਅਹੰਕਾਰਾ ॥
maa-i-aa moh parayt hai kaam kroDh ahaNkaaraa.
Emotional attachment to Maya, sexual desire, anger and egotism are demons.
ਏਹ ਜਮ ਕੀ ਸਿਰਕਾਰ ਹੈ ਏਨ੍ਹ੍ਹਾ ਉਪਰਿ ਜਮ ਕਾ ਡੰਡੁ ਕਰਾਰਾ ॥
ayh jam kee sirkaar hai aynHaa upar jam kaa dand karaaraa.
Because of them, mortals are subject to death; above their heads hangs the heavy club of the Messenger of Death.
ਮਨਮੁਖ ਜਮ ਮਗਿ ਪਾਈਅਨ੍ਹ੍ਹਿ ਜਿਨ੍ਹ੍ਹ ਦੂਜਾ ਭਾਉ ਪਿਆਰਾ ॥
manmukh jam mag paa-ee-aniH jinH doojaa bhaa-o pi-aaraa.
The self-willed manmukhs, in love with duality, are led onto the path of Death.
ਜਮ ਪੁਰਿ ਬਧੇ ਮਾਰੀਅਨਿ ਕੋ ਸੁਣੈ ਨ ਪੂਕਾਰਾ ॥
jam pur baDhay maaree-an ko sunai na pookaaraa.
In the City of Death, they are tied up and beaten, and no one hears their cries.
ਜਿਸ ਨੋ ਕ੍ਰਿਪਾ ਕਰੇ ਤਿਸੁ ਗੁਰੁ ਮਿਲੈ ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਨਿਸਤਾਰਾ ॥੧੨॥
jis no kirpaa karay tis gur milai gurmukh nistaaraa. ||12||
One who is blessed by the Lord's Grace meets the Guru; as Gurmukh, he is emancipated. ||12||

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa

In plain words

Clinging, craving, anger and ego are the real demons.

They drag a person toward death, with the heavy club of fear over the head. The self-centered, in love with a second, are led down death's road, bound and beaten where no one hears. But the one the One graces meets the teaching and is set free.

The real demons aren't external monsters but our own compulsions — which means the liberation is inner too.
The deeper layer

The twelfth Pauree names the true "demons" — not external monsters but our own compulsions: attachment, craving, anger, ego. This is the Vaar's psychology: what torments us is inside. The harsh death-imagery is the felt experience of a life ruled by these — beaten, unheard. And the exit is grace and the teaching. The demons are inner; so is the liberation.

A Question to Sit With

Which of your own 'demons' — craving, anger, ego — troubles you most? What quiets it?

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI

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