Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
After a long, long journey through countless forms, here you are. You have been given the rare and precious gift of a human life.
And once we arrive, it is so easy to get swept up in a hundred other things. We forget how remarkable it is just to be here.
A human life is a rare and precious gift.
The verse pictures a long journey through countless lives. Only after all that do we arrive in a human life. Maanas janam dulbhaahee means "human birth is hard to get." It is a treasure.
Then comes the everyday problem. Once we are born, we get attached to "other places": lesser things that pull us away. Think of getting a brand-new bike and leaving it in the garage while you scroll on a phone. The gift is there. We just forget to use it. The teaching is gratitude and attention, not guilt.
What is something about being alive that you sometimes forget to appreciate?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI