Sikhism·Raag Maaroo·Shabad 7
Verse 4 of 5

Living by the Flow, Not by Scheming

ਤਉ ਦੇਵਾਨਾ ਜਾਣੀਐ ਜਾ ਏਕਾ ਕਾਰ ਕਮਾਇ ॥
ta-o dayvaanaa jaanee-ai jaa aykaa kaar kamaa-ay.
He alone is known to be insane, if he works for the One Lord.
ਹੁਕਮੁ ਪਛਾਣੈ ਖਸਮ ਕਾ ਦੂਜੀ ਅਵਰ ਸਿਆਣਪ ਕਾਇ ॥੩॥
hukam pachhaanai khasam kaa doojee avar si-aanap kaa-ay. ||3||
Recognizing the Hukam, the Command of his Lord and Master, what other cleverness is there? ||3||

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa

In plain words

This joy shows itself when I do my work for the sake of the One.

I try to sense the flow of life and move with it, instead of always scheming.

That simple trust is wiser than any cleverness I could invent.

Moving with the flow of life is wiser than always trying to outsmart it.
The deeper layer

Here the happy "crazy" one is someone who does aykaa kaar, work for the One alone. Hukam pachhaanai khasam kaa: they recognize the Hukam, the Master's order. Hukam is the flow of how everything works.

Then comes a question: doojee avar si-aanap kaa-ay, what other cleverness is needed? Moving with the Hukam is the smartest thing of all. It is also the end of trying to be clever. Think of swimming with the river instead of fighting against it.

Work done for the One is free of the ego's worried planning. Trust takes the place of scheming, and life flows more easily.

A Question to Sit With

When has going with the flow worked better than trying to control everything?

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI

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