har kai arath kharach nah saakeh jamkaal saheh sir peerhaa. ||2||
They cannot spend this in harmony with the Lord, and so they must endure the pain which the Messenger of Death inflicts upon their heads. ||2||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
In plain words
O my mind, say the Name of the beautiful One.
The true teacher soaked my mind and body in the love of the One, who met me and held me close.
The faithless are bound in the chains of illusion, busily gathering poisonous wealth. They cannot spend it in tune with the One, and so they suffer under death's shadow.
There are two ways to be busy: frantically piling up things for yourself, which chains you — or living soaked in love, which holds everything lightly. The poison isn't the wealth; it's being chained to it.
The deeper layer
The contrast between two ways of being "busy." The saakat (faithless) are frantically "gathering poisonous wealth" — chained to accumulation, working hard for things that turn to poison because they can't be "spent in harmony with the One." Wealth gathered only for the self becomes a burden, even a torment. Set against this is the seeker "soaked in love," held close. Guru Ram Das is not condemning work or money; he is contrasting two orientations — anxious hoarding that enslaves, versus a life soaked in love that holds lightly. The poison is not the wealth itself but the chaining to it.
A Question to Sit With
What's the difference between using money and being chained to getting more of it? How can you tell which one you're doing?
