Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Everything I build only for myself out here is temporary — one day it all returns to the earth and the breath moves on.
So it is worth asking early: where is the home that actually lasts? The real resting place is not a thing I can stack up outside me.
This one means the body does not last, so it is wise to look for the home that does.
dayhee hovag khaak pavan udaa-ee-ai — the body becomes dust, and the breath flies away. This is a plain, honest fact about every life.
Then the verse asks a question. Where are those houses and resting places now? They give no lasting shelter. They do not lead to the mahal, the palace where the One is present.
Think of a sandcastle built with great care. The tide comes in, and it is gone. The verse is not trying to scare us. It turns us gently toward the home that stays.
What is a home you carry inside you, that no move could take away?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI