ਆਪਨ ਊਚ ਨੀਚ ਘਰਿ ਭੋਜਨੁ ਹਠੇ ਕਰਮ ਕਰਿ ਉਦਰੁ ਭਰਹਿ ॥
aapan ooch neech ghar bhojan hathay karam kar udar bhareh.
You think that you are high, but you take food from the houses of the lowly; you fill up your belly by forcibly practicing your rituals.
ਚਉਦਸ ਅਮਾਵਸ ਰਚਿ ਰਚਿ ਮਾਂਗਹਿ ਕਰ ਦੀਪਕੁ ਲੈ ਕੂਪਿ ਪਰਹਿ ॥੨॥
cha-udas amaavas rach rach maaNgeh kar deepak lai koop pareh. ||2||
On the fourteenth day, and the night of the new moon, you go out begging; even though you hold the lamp in your hands, still, you fall into the pit. ||2||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
You think you are high, yet you eat food from the homes of people you call low. You fill your belly by pushing through your rituals.
On the fourteenth day and the new-moon night you go out asking for gifts. You hold a lamp in your hand, and still you fall into the pit.
Looking down on people you depend on is a kind of blindness.
To claim to be 'high' while depending on the households you call 'low' is a kind of blindness. And ritual done by force, without heart, is a lamp you refuse to look by. Caste-pride and empty form fall together here.
A Question to Sit With
Why do you think people sometimes look down on the very people who help them most?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
Use ← → to navigate