ਨੀਬੁ ਭਇਓ ਆਂਬੁ ਆਂਬੁ ਭਇਓ ਨੀਬਾ ਕੇਲਾ ਪਾਕਾ ਝਾਰਿ ॥
neemb bha-i-o aaNb aaNb bha-i-o neembaa kaylaa paakaa jhaar.
He thinks that the bitter nimm fruit is a mango, and the mango is a bitter nimm. He imagines the ripe banana on the thorny bush.
ਨਾਲੀਏਰ ਫਲੁ ਸੇਬਰਿ ਪਾਕਾ ਮੂਰਖ ਮੁਗਧ ਗਵਾਰ ॥੧॥
naalee-ayr fal saybar paakaa moorakh mugaDh gavaar. ||1||
He thinks that the ripe coconut hangs on the barren simmal tree; what a stupid, idiotic fool he is! ||1||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
He thinks the bitter neem fruit is a mango, and the mango is bitter neem. He looks for ripe bananas on a thorny bush.
He thinks ripe coconuts hang on the bare silk-cotton tree. How foolish and mixed-up he is!
When we stop paying attention, we start mixing up what is good for us.
A muddled mind gets everything turned around: the bitter fruit mistaken for the sweet, ripe fruit imagined on a thorn bush. It loses the ability to tell what is good from what only looks good. The confusion is gentle to name, and easy to fall into.
A Question to Sit With
When have you wanted something that turned out not to be as sweet as it looked?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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