Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Foolish mind, you have let the One slip from your mind!
You eat at His table and then forget to be grateful, and you watch it all come apart before your eyes.
Do not forget the One who gives you everything.
This line is the rahaa-o, the "pause" line, the center of the shabad.
It starts with moorhay, "you fool!" But the Guru is really speaking to his own mind, the way you might say to yourself, "Oh, silly me, I forgot again!"
Loon khaa-ay: "you eat His salt." In India, to eat someone's salt means to eat at their table and be cared for by them. Then you owe them loyalty and thanks. To forget the One who feeds you is like eating at a friend's house every day and never saying thank you.
The verse ends with a harsh warning. What it keeps for us is the lesson of gratitude. All the good in life comes from somewhere. When we forget that, we drift far from home. When we remember, we turn back.
What is a goodness in your life you would like to remember to be grateful for?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI