- in these many ways, the false wander in reincarnation.
ਜਹ ਜਾਨੋ ਤਹ ਰਹਨੁ ਨ ਪਾਵੈ ॥
jah jaano tah rahan na paavai.
Wherever they go, they cannot remain there.
ਥਾਨ ਬਿਹੂਨ ਉਠਿ ਉਠਿ ਫਿਰਿ ਧਾਵੈ ॥
thaan bihoon uth uth fir Dhaavai.
They have no place of rest; they rise up again and again and run around.
ਮਨਿ ਤਨਿ ਬਾਸਨਾ ਬਹੁਤੁ ਬਿਸਥਾਰਾ ॥
man tan baasnaa bahut bisthaaraa.
Their minds and bodies are filled with immense, expansive desires.
ਅਹੰਮੇਵ ਮੂਠੋ ਬੇਚਾਰਾ ॥
ahaNmayv mootho baychaaraa.
The poor wretches are cheated by egotism.
ਅਨਿਕ ਦੋਖ ਅਰੁ ਬਹੁਤੁ ਸਜਾਈ ॥
anik dokh ar bahut sajaa-ee.
They are filled with countless sins, and are severely punished.
ਤਾ ਕੀ ਕੀਮਤਿ ਕਹਣੁ ਨ ਜਾਈ ॥
taa kee keemat kahan na jaa-ee.
The extent of this cannot be estimated.
ਪ੍ਰਭ ਬਿਸਰਤ ਨਰਕ ਮਹਿ ਪਾਇਆ ॥
parabh bisrat narak meh paa-i-aa.
Forgetting God, they fall into hell.
ਤਹ ਮਾਤ ਨ ਬੰਧੁ ਨ ਮੀਤ ਨ ਜਾਇਆ ॥
tah maat na banDh na meet na jaa-i-aa.
There are no mothers there, no siblings, no friends and no spouses.
ਜਿਸ ਕਉ ਹੋਤ ਕ੍ਰਿਪਾਲ ਸੁਆਮੀ ॥
jis ka-o hot kirpaal su-aamee.
Those humble beings, unto whom the Lord and Master becomes Merciful,
ਸੋ ਜਨੁ ਨਾਨਕ ਪਾਰਗਰਾਮੀ ॥੩॥
so jan naanak paargaraamee. ||3||
O Nanak, cross over. ||3||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
In plain words
Without an anchor, life can feel like endless wandering — never quite able to rest anywhere, always rising up and rushing off again.
The mind fills with more and more wanting, and the little "me" keeps us spinning.
Nanak says, whenever the One's kindness touches someone, they are carried gently across to steady ground.
Without an anchor, life keeps wandering; mercy carries us across.
The deeper layer
Life without an anchor is restless wandering.
The verse uses strong old pictures. It speaks of passing through many kinds of lives, as animals, birds and restless spirits. Jah jaano tah rahan na paavai — wherever they go, they cannot stay. They get up and run off again and again. Think of a phone that never finds a signal, searching and searching.
The mind fills with more and more wanting. The little "me", ahamayv, keeps the person spinning. The verse speaks of many wrongs and hard results. It pictures a place of pain where no mother, brother, friend or partner can come along. That picture shows how lonely it feels to be cut off from the One.
Then comes the turn. Jis ka-o hot kirpaal su-aamee — the one the Master is kind to is carried across. Kindness from the One is what finally brings the wanderer home.
