Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Chasing only more and more can tie a heart up in knots.
The rope of me-first and of chasing shiny things can wrap tight around it.
Without the Guru's wisdom and the Naam, we stay tied up. We get pulled along where we never meant to go.
Me-first and the chase for more can tie a heart up in knots.
The verse says we are born and pass away, upjahi binsahi, and stay tied up the whole time. Ha-umai, the "me first" feeling, and maa-i-aa, the chase after shiny things, are like a rope around the neck. The verse then gives a hard old picture: being led away, tied up, to the city of death. It shows where forgetting leads. It is about the knot we tie ourselves, not about a punishment.
Think of headphone cords stuffed in a pocket. Left alone, they tangle worse and worse. With patient hands, they come loose. Gurmat, the Guru's wisdom, and raam naam, the Name, are those patient hands.
What helps loosen a knot of wanting inside you?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI