Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Busy with show and play, people sink into what is wrong. Even the moon and the sun are caught by the glittering pull of the world.
Its jingling bells make a restless noise. With its pretty, charming ways it draws in everyone — except the heart that is at home in the One.
This pull wraps around every corner of life. Those stuck in shallow, wrong-headed doing cannot get free. Dazed and busy, they are tossed about, as if lost on a wide, restless sea.
The shiny pull of the world can fool almost anyone.
The verse has a name for that pull: Maya, the glitter of how things look on the outside. It pictures Maya as a dancer with jingling ankle bells. She is so dazzling that even the moon and the sun get caught looking. Think of a phone full of bright pings, each one calling for your attention. Every ping feels important. Most of them leave you a little emptier.
The second line is the "pause" line, the rahaa-o. It is the center of the whole shabad, or hymn. It says the pull draws in everyone, except those who rest in gopaal, the One who cares for the whole world. The old picture uses a woman dancer, but the teaching is not about blaming women. It is about the pull of looks and show, which works on all of us.
That pull reaches into every corner of life. A busy, distracted mind gets tossed around like a small boat on a big sea. The heart that is already at home in the One can see through the shimmer.
What is something that looks amazing on the outside but does not make you happy?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI