Sikhism·Raag Nat Naaraayan·Shabad 23
Verse 7 of 9

Try to Hurt the Good-Hearted, and You Hurt Yourself

ਸਭੁ ਹੈ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੁ ਹੈ ਪਸਰਿਆ ਮਨਿ ਬੀਜਿਆ ਖਾਵਾਰੇ ॥
sabh hai barahm barahm hai pasri-aa man beeji-aa khaavaaray.
All is God, and God is the whole expanse; man eats what he has planted.
ਜਿਉ ਜਨ ਚੰਦ੍ਰਹਾਂਸੁ ਦੁਖਿਆ ਧ੍ਰਿਸਟਬੁਧੀ ਅਪੁਨਾ ਘਰੁ ਲੂਕੀ ਜਾਰੇ ॥੬॥
ji-o jan chandar-haaNs dukhi-aa DharistbuDhee apunaa ghar lookee jaaray. ||6||
When Dhrishtabudhi tormented the humble devotee Chandrahaans, he only set his own house on fire. ||6||

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa

In plain words

Everything is the One, and we each live with the fruit of what we do.

When someone tried to harm a good-hearted person, they only ended up hurting themselves.

When someone tries to hurt a good-hearted person, they often only end up hurting themselves.
The deeper layer

The verse gives the natural law again — "man eats what he has planted" — and an old story (Chandrahaans and his tormentor): "when [the tormentor] tormented the humble devotee, he only set his own house on fire." Trying to harm a good person tends to rebound on the one doing the harm. The qMonk voice keeps this gently — harm done to the good comes back on the harm-doer. For a child: when someone tries to hurt a good-hearted person, they often only end up hurting themselves.

A Question to Sit With

Why might trying to hurt a kind person backfire on the one doing it?

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

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