Sikhism·Raag Maaroo·Shabad 81
Verse 2 of 8

What We Send Out Finds Its Way Back

ਪਾਪ ਕਰੇਦੜ ਸਰਪਰ ਮੁਠੇ ॥
paap karaydarh sarpar muthay.
Those who committed sins are sure to be ruined.
ਅਜਰਾਈਲਿ ਫੜੇ ਫੜਿ ਕੁਠੇ ॥
ajraa-eel farhay farh kuthay.
Azraa-eel, the Angel of Death, seizes and tortures them.
ਦੋਜਕਿ ਪਾਏ ਸਿਰਜਣਹਾਰੈ ਲੇਖਾ ਮੰਗੈ ਬਾਣੀਆ ॥੨॥
dojak paa-ay sirjanhaarai laykhaa mangai baanee-aa. ||2||
They are consigned to hell by the Creator Lord, and the Accountant calls them to give their account. ||2||

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa

In plain words

When we act unkindly, that unkindness quietly works against us in the end.

The harm we send out has a way of finding its way home.

In the end, the Creator asks each one to give an account of what they did.

Unkindness works against itself, and kindness can always turn things around.
The deeper layer

The wrong we do comes back to us. Strong old pictures carry this. Ajraa-eel is Azrael, the angel of death in old stories. The Creator asks each person to give an account, like a teacher asking to see your work.

The heart of it is simple. Unkindness does not just stay out there. It works its way back, like a ball thrown hard at a wall that bounces right back at you. Cruelty ends up undoing the one who is cruel.

And there is always a way back. Any heart can turn toward good, starting today.

A Question to Sit With

If you have been unkind, what is one small way to set it right?

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

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