ਪੰਚ ਚੋਰ ਚੰਚਲ ਚਿਤੁ ਚਾਲਹਿ ॥
panch chor chanchal chit chaaleh.
The five thieves cause the fickle consciousness to waver.
ਪਰ ਘਰ ਜੋਹਹਿ ਘਰੁ ਨਹੀ ਭਾਲਹਿ ॥
par ghar joheh ghar nahee bhaaleh.
It looks into the homes of others, but does not search its own home.
ਕਾਇਆ ਨਗਰੁ ਢਹੈ ਢਹਿ ਢੇਰੀ ਬਿਨੁ ਸਬਦੈ ਪਤਿ ਜਾਈ ਹੇ ॥੩॥
kaa-i-aa nagar dhahai dheh dhayree bin sabdai pat jaa-ee hay. ||3||
The body-village crumbles into dust; without the Word of the Shabad, one's honor is lost. ||3||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Five restless pulls, wanting and anger and greed and clinging and pride, can tug my mind this way and that.
Sometimes I go peeking into everyone else's business instead of looking gently inside my own heart.
This body will not last forever, so I want to find the Shabad now, the Word that keeps me myself.
The treasure I keep hunting for outside is waiting quietly at home, inside me.
The five thieves and the crumbling body-village are classic images of distraction and impermanence. Look within, and treasure the Shabad now, while the body lasts.
A Question to Sit With
What is something you look for outside that you might already have inside?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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