ਜੀਅ ਕਾ ਬੰਧਨੁ ਕਰਮੁ ਬਿਆਪੈ ॥
jee-a kaa banDhan karam bi-aapai.
The mortal's actions hold the soul in the bondage of karma.
ਜੋ ਕਿਛੁ ਕੀਆ ਸੁ ਆਪੈ ਆਪੈ ॥੩॥
jo kichh kee-aa so aapai aapai. ||3||
Whatever he does, he does on his own. ||3||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
The things a person does tie the soul up in karma, the way our actions follow us and shape what comes next.
Whatever a person does, they do it themselves.
Our actions can tie the heart in knots — and those knots are ours to loosen.
Your own actions can tie you up, and you are the one who ties the knots.
Jee-a kaa banDhan karam bi-aapai means our actions bind the soul. This is karam, karma: what we do follows us and shapes what comes next.
Jo kichh kee-aa so aapai aapai means "whatever is done, we do it ourselves." Think of a tangled shoelace. You tied the knot, so you can also untie it. The knots are ours, and so they are ours to loosen.
A Question to Sit With
What is a knot your own choices have tied that you could start to untie?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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