ਮੋ ਕਉ ਧਾਰਿ ਕ੍ਰਿਪਾ ਜਗਜੀਵਨ ਦਾਤੇ ਹਰਿ ਸੰਤ ਪਗੀ ਲੇ ਪਾਵੈ ॥
mo ka-o Dhaar kirpaa jagjeevan daatay har sant pagee lay paavai.
Take pity on me, O Lord of the World, O Great Giver; let me fall at the feet of the Saints.
ਹਉ ਕਾਟਉ ਕਾਟਿ ਬਾਢਿ ਸਿਰੁ ਰਾਖਉ ਜਿਤੁ ਨਾਨਕ ਸੰਤੁ ਚੜਿ ਆਵੈ ॥੪॥੩॥
ha-o kaata-o kaat baadh sir raakha-o jit naanak sant charh aavai. ||4||3||
I would cut off my head, and cut it into pieces, O Nanak, and set it down for the Saints to walk upon. ||4||3||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Be kind to me, Life of the whole world, great Giver; let me fall at the feet of the saints.
Nanak says: I would give up my whole self, proud head and all, and lay it down as a path for the saints to walk on.
Learning begins when you set your stubborn self down.
Offering one’s own head and laying it down is an old Indic idiom for the total surrender of the ego, the proud “I.” The head that is set down is the head of pride (haumai). What is given up is the stubborn self, so the heart can learn.
A Question to Sit With
What would you have to set down to learn something new?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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