Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
The person who only ever follows their own ego wanders and wanders, never finding a place to rest. It's like being tied up at the door of fear, taking blow after blow. When the end comes, none of the things you collected can come with you — only the Name walks beside you. The free ones are the ones who kept the Name alive in their hearts.
The ego is never satisfied. The moment it gets what it wanted, it wants more, so it never lets you rest.
Manmukh bhoolaa tha-ur na paa-ay — the manmukh is lost and finds no place to rest. Manmukh means "face turned toward one's own mind," or ego. It is not a kind of bad person. It is a direction. It is the heart going around and around its own wants and opinions, "me first" all the way down. Its opposite is the gurmukh, "face turned toward the Guru," which comes in later verses. These are not fixed labels. Everyone turns both ways at times. The question is which way you are facing right now.
Tha-ur means a resting place, and the ego never finds one. It always needs the next win, the next new thing, the next "like." Think of a game where every level you beat unlocks a harder one. You never get to put it down. The moment the ego gets what it wanted, it wants more.
Jam dar baDhaa chotaa khaa-ay — tied up at death's door, it takes blow after blow. In everyday life, this is the tiring beating we take from our own restless wanting. The ego is a harsh boss that never lets you sit down.
The line that lands hardest is this one. Bin naavai ko sang na saathee — without the Name, there is no companion and no friend. Picture the end of a life. Everything the ego spent its time grabbing — things, being important, scores, even the body — stays behind. None of it walks with you through the last door. Only the Name goes with you. Only who you became. Only the One you let into your heart.
This is not meant to be gloomy. It is a helpful question for right now. Of everything you are chasing, what would still matter at the very end?
Muktay naam Dhi-aavani-aa — the free ones are those who keep the Name in mind. Being free, mukti, is not running away from life. It is no longer being bossed around by a restless ego that can never be satisfied.
If you imagine the very end of everything, which of the things you chase hardest would still matter? Which would turn out to be just stuff left behind?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI