Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Hundreds of scoldings come by day, and thousands more by night.
The swan-soul has stopped praising the One and gone off to peck at a rotting carcass.
Shame on a life spent only eating to fill the belly.
Nanak says: without the True Naam, every friend turns into an enemy.
A shalok of the First Mehl. hans = the swan, an old picture of the soul, said to feed on pearls; karangee = a carcass, the soul settling for far less than its nature. fit ivayhaa jeevi-aa = shame on such a life, a life that only fills the belly. sabho dusman hayt = without the Naam, even the people we love can turn against us.
What is a pearl — something deeply nourishing — that you don't want to trade for scraps?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI