Don't Fight the Dark; Light a Lamp

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa

This verse says the inner home is darkened by feeling separate, and when the light comes, the ego simply lets go.

Ghar hee maahi doojai bhaa-ay anayraa — inside the home, doojai bhaa-ay, love of "the second thing," makes a darkness. It means the feeling that we are apart from the One. Guru Amar Das names this as the main trouble all through this raag. The Beloved is right there in the room, glowing. But this feeling of being separate is like a thick blackout curtain. It says, "There is a 'me' here and a pile of things out there to chase," and the inner home goes dark.

The cure is simple: chaanan hovai chhodai ha-umai mayraa — when the light dawns, "I" and "mine" let go. Look at the order. It is the opposite of what we might expect. We might think: first I must crush my ego, and then the light will come as a reward. The verse says the light comes, and then the ego lets go. Why? Because darkness is not a thing to fight. It is just no light. You cannot punch the dark away. You switch on a lamp, and the dark is simply gone. It is the same with the ego. We do not have to wrestle it by willpower. Let the light in, and the grabbing "me" loosens its grip.

What is the light? Pargat sabad hai sukh-daata — the shabad, the Word, shines out as the sukh-daata, the Giver of peace. The Word is the lamp that lights the inner home, clears the dark, and shows the Beloved who was there all along. So the everyday step is plain: an-din naam Dhi-aavani-aa — keep the Name in mind day and night. Keeping the Name is how we keep the lamp lit. We do not spend our days fighting the dark. We tend the light, and the dark has nowhere to stay.