ਅਨਿਕ ਅਡੰਬਰ ਮਾਇਆ ਕੇ ਬਿਰਥੇ ਤਾ ਸਿਉ ਪ੍ਰੀਤਿ ਘਟਾਵਉ ॥
anik adambar maa-i-aa kay birthay taa si-o pareet ghataava-o.
The many ostentatious shows of Maya are useless; I withhold my love from these.
ਜਿਉ ਅਪੁਨੋ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਸੁਖੁ ਮਾਨੈ ਤਾ ਮਹਿ ਸੋਭਾ ਪਾਵਉ ॥੧॥
ji-o apuno su-aamee sukh maanai taa meh sobhaa paava-o. ||1||
As something pleases my Lord and Master, in that I find my glory. ||1||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
The flashy shows of the glitter are useless; I hold back my love from them.
Whatever pleases my Master — in that I find my glory.
Real glory isn't applause but alignment — found not in impressive spectacle but simply in pleasing the One.
The verse relocates "glory" entirely: not in "the ostentatious shows of Maya" but in "as something pleases my Lord." The devotee withdraws love from spectacle and finds honor in a single thing — pleasing the One. This frees a person from the endless performance of impressiveness; real glory is not applause but alignment.
A Question to Sit With
Where do you chase 'glory' as applause? What would glory-as-alignment feel like instead?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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