Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Stuck to greed, you have forgotten the Naam. Coming and going, your life has slipped away and been wasted.
When death's messenger seizes you by the hair, the reckoning comes. You never woke up, and now you have fallen into death's mouth.
Greed can steal our days before we notice they are gone.
Laalach laagai naam bisaari-o means that stuck to greed, a person forgets the Name. Laalach means greed. Aavat jaavat janam ga-i-aa means the days come and go until a whole life is spent.
The verse then gives a frightening picture of death grabbing a person by the hair. Every life ends one day, and the picture is a wake-up call to notice our days while we have them. Its lesson is this: greed steals surat, our awareness. That is the part of us that notices what matters most.
Think of scrolling a phone for "just one more minute." Suddenly the whole evening is gone. Greed works the same way on a whole life. Staying aware is how we keep our days.
What might you miss today if you spend it only wanting more?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI