Nothing here is yours to keep — so gather the one wealth that stays.
The Arc
Your body and your mind do not belong to you. Caught up in Maya, the world's glittering show, you get fooled. You skip around like a little lamb, and then, suddenly, death's loop catches you. Your unfinished jobs will never all get done. Wanting, anger and pride leave you full of regret. You bend the rules to get by, careless one, yet not a speck of it goes with you. You learn clever tricks and throw dust on your own head for pennies, and you forget the One who gave you life. When the One is kind, the proud mind turns humble as dust, and the One takes you by the hand. At the centre, the Rahao: rest in the One's shelter, and the Naam becomes the wealth that stays.
Key Vocabulary
Naa tan tayraa naa man tohi — neither body nor mind is truly yours. Maya — the glittering, passing show of the world. Saach dhanaa — the true wealth. Hasat kamal larh leeno laa-ay — fastened to the hem of the robe by lotus hands.
Themes and Cross-Connections
The 'true wealth' theme runs throughout Guru Arjan's work: the one possession that death cannot strip away is the remembrance of the One, the Naam. Pride melting into humility is the shabad's hinge.
For Raag Raamkalee
The urgency here is clear-eyed, fitting Raamkalee's morning mood: wake up, and live awake.
Hukumnama
Subject: The Naam is the wealth that stays Preview: A body on loan, a lamb at play, a to-do list that never ends, and dust thrown on your own head for pennies.
Today: Your body and your mind do not belong to you. Caught up in Maya, the world's glittering show, you get fooled. You skip around like a little lamb, and then, suddenly, death's loop catches you. Your unfinished jobs will never all get done. Wanting, anger and pride leave you full of regret. You bend the rules to get by, careless one, yet not a speck of it goes with you. You learn clever tricks and throw dust on your own head for pennies, and you forget the One who gave you life. When the One is kind, the proud mind turns humble as dust, and the One takes you by the hand.
Rest in the One's shelter, and the Naam becomes the wealth that stays.
For today: Give away something small today and notice how light it feels.
Nothing here is yours to keep — so gather the one wealth that stays.
The Arc
Your body and your mind do not belong to you. Caught up in Maya, the world's glittering show, you get fooled. You skip around like a little lamb, and then, suddenly, death's loop catches you. Your unfinished jobs will never all get done. Wanting, anger and pride leave you full of regret. You bend the rules to get by, careless one, yet not a speck of it goes with you. You learn clever tricks and throw dust on your own head for pennies, and you forget the One who gave you life. When the One is kind, the proud mind turns humble as dust, and the One takes you by the hand. At the centre, the Rahao: rest in the One's shelter, and the Naam becomes the wealth that stays.
Key Vocabulary
Naa tan tayraa naa man tohi — neither body nor mind is truly yours. Maya — the glittering, passing show of the world. Saach dhanaa — the true wealth. Hasat kamal larh leeno laa-ay — fastened to the hem of the robe by lotus hands.
Themes and Cross-Connections
The 'true wealth' theme runs throughout Guru Arjan's work: the one possession that death cannot strip away is the remembrance of the One, the Naam. Pride melting into humility is the shabad's hinge.
For Raag Raamkalee
The urgency here is clear-eyed, fitting Raamkalee's morning mood: wake up, and live awake.
Hukumnama
Subject: The Naam is the wealth that stays Preview: A body on loan, a lamb at play, a to-do list that never ends, and dust thrown on your own head for pennies.
Today: Your body and your mind do not belong to you. Caught up in Maya, the world's glittering show, you get fooled. You skip around like a little lamb, and then, suddenly, death's loop catches you. Your unfinished jobs will never all get done. Wanting, anger and pride leave you full of regret. You bend the rules to get by, careless one, yet not a speck of it goes with you. You learn clever tricks and throw dust on your own head for pennies, and you forget the One who gave you life. When the One is kind, the proud mind turns humble as dust, and the One takes you by the hand.
Rest in the One's shelter, and the Naam becomes the wealth that stays.
For today: Give away something small today and notice how light it feels.