Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
The world is like a temporary rest-stop, yet it is filled with pride.
People do countless harmful things, dyed in the color of loving illusion.
In greed, attachment and ego they are drowning; they don't even think of the end.
Children, friends, work and spouse — they talk of these while life quietly slips away.
When the allotted days run out, O mother, they meet the reckoning, and they suffer.
The weight of past deeds cannot be wiped away, Nanak, for those who did not gather the wealth of the Name.
This part says the world is like a roadside inn: a place to rest on the way, not your forever home.
PaaDhaanoo sansaar — the world is a sarai, a rest-stop where travelers stay a night and move on. Guru Arjan names the odd part. Though it is only a stop, gaarab ati-aa, it is full of pride. People act as if the inn were their permanent house. They sink in greed, attachment and ego. Maran cheet na aav-ay — they don't even think about leaving.
The everyday talk fills the days. Putar mitar bi-uhaar banitaa — children, friends, work, spouse. Ayh karat bihaava-ay — talking of these, life slips by. Like the Guru Tegh Bahadur shabads before it, this reminds us that life is short. Not to scare us, but to wake us up.
Think of a hotel on a family trip. It's nice, but you don't unpack your whole life there. You are a traveler at an inn. Don't mistake it for home. And don't let the whole stay pass without gathering har naam Dhan, the wealth of the Name, the one thing you can take with you.
If you knew a place was just an overnight stop, would you treat it differently than your permanent home? How might you treat life differently?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI