Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Being drunk on pride in Maya, the shine of things that do not last, is false.
Put away your tricks and your tight holding-on, poor dear.
Know that the One who cares for the whole world is right here with you.
Being puffed up over things that don't last is a kind of pretending, and the One is right here with you.
This is the rahaa-o, the "pause" line, the center of the shabad. Maa-i-aa means the shiny, changing world: money, stuff, being noticed. Mad maan means being drunk on pride in it. The verse calls that jhootho, false.
Dharoh moh means tricks and tight clinging. Bapuray is a tender way of speaking to a struggling self. It isn't an insult. It is more like "oh, you poor dear."
The cure isn't shame. It is remembering sang gopaaleh: Gopaal, the One who cares for the world, is already beside you. Think of a child showing off a new sticker, then turning and seeing their parent smiling nearby. The showing off just melts.
What is something you sometimes puff yourself up about — and what would it feel like to just set it down?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI