Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
A whole life can slip past in ego and quarreling.
The taste of what harms you never leaves you satisfied — you just want more.
Roaming and wandering, you suffer terrible pain.
And you cannot cross the hard sea of Maya, the world's glittering show.
A life can be spent in ego and conflict: janam bihaano ahankaar ar vaad. Tripat na aavai bikhi-aa saad: the flavor of poison (harmful craving) never brings contentment; the more you chase it, the emptier you feel. Dutar maa-i-aa is the hard-to-cross sea of illusion.
The answer comes a little later in the shabad: the crossing happens when grace comes.
What is something that promises to satisfy you but always leaves you wanting more?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI