Let the Restless Mind Come to Rest

ਵਸਿ ਆਣਿਹੁ ਵੇ ਜਨ ਇਸੁ ਮਨ ਕਉ ਮਨੁ ਬਾਸੇ ਜਿਉ ਨਿਤ ਭਉਦਿਆ ॥

vas aanihu vay jan is man ka-o man baasay ji-o nit bha-udi-aa.

Overcome and subdue this mind; your mind wanders around continually, like a falcon.

ਦੁਖਿ ਰੈਣਿ ਵੇ ਵਿਹਾਣੀਆ ਨਿਤ ਆਸਾ ਆਸ ਕਰੇਦਿਆ ॥

dukh rain vay vihaanee-aa nit aasaa aas karaydi-aa.

The mortal's life-night passes painfully, in constant hope and desire.

ਗੁਰੁ ਪਾਇਆ ਵੇ ਸੰਤ ਜਨੋ ਮਨਿ ਆਸ ਪੂਰੀ ਹਰਿ ਚਉਦਿਆ ॥

gur paa-i-aa vay sant jano man aas pooree har cha-udi-aa.

I have found the Guru, O humble Saints; my mind's hopes are fulfilled, chanting the Lord's Name.

ਜਨ ਨਾਨਕ ਪ੍ਰਭ ਦੇਹੁ ਮਤੀ ਛਡਿ ਆਸਾ ਨਿਤ ਸੁਖਿ ਸਉਦਿਆ ॥੨॥

jan naanak parabh dayh matee chhad aasaa nit sukh sa-udi-aa. ||2||

Please bless servant Nanak, O God, with such understanding, that abandoning false hopes, he may always sleep in peace. ||2||

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa

In plain words

Help this restless mind come to rest; on its own it wanders and circles like a bird that never lands.

Chasing want after want, its nights pass uneasy and long.

But when the Teacher is found, the heart's real hope is filled just by keeping the One in mind. Grant me the wisdom to set down the wanting — and rest, at last, in peace.

Setting down feverish wanting is what finally lets the mind rest.

The deeper layer

man baasay ji-o nit bha-udi-aa — the mind compared to a restless bird that keeps circling and never lands. chhad aasaa nit sukh sa-udi-aa: letting go of grasping aasaa, anxious hope, brings sukh, restful peace. The point is not to stop hoping for good, but to release the feverish wanting that never settles.

A Question to Sit With

What is a worry you could gently set down so your mind could rest tonight?

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI

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