Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
There is only One. And the One is found by the True Guru's grace — a gift that is always here, waiting for an open heart.
Sometimes I get tangled up in things that look tempting but leave me feeling worse — and my mind fills with wave after wave, one worry crashing in right after another, never still.
When I am like that, I can feel how far from peace I am. Naming it honestly, without pretending, is the first step back.
Sometimes the mind gets tangled up and full of waves. This shabad starts by naming that plainly.
It is an ashtapadee, a hymn in eight verses, by Guru Arjan. Urajh rahi-o bikhi-aa kai sangaa — he is tangled up in the company of bikhi-aa. Bikhi-aa means poison: things that look tempting but hurt the heart. Maneh bi-aapat anik tarangaa — his mind is filled with many tarang, waves. These are waves of wanting and worry.
Think of a pond on a windy day. The water keeps churning, and you cannot see the bottom. The rest of the shabad shows how the water can go still again. It begins by being honest about the wind.
What kinds of things get your mind churning with wave after wave of worry?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI