The whole world swings high and low, caught in attachment and doubt; only in good company and the teaching does one cross over — and never belittle anyone, for all are the One's own making.
The Arc
Four stanzas. Pauri 0: creation is swept up in attachment, swinging high and low; no ritual purifies by itself. Rahau (Pauri 1): freedom is in the shelter of the good; the heart that is full stays un-entangled. Pauri 2: never speak ill of anyone — all are the One's creation. Pauri 3: the Highest lifts everyone; without the teaching no one crosses — this is the whole essence.
Key Vocabulary
mohi vi-aapee: engrossed in attachment — the high/low swing
bharam bhulaavaa: the delusion of doubt
ni-aaraa: un-entangled, free while fully in the world
nindau naahee: do not belittle — grounded in oneness
pooran tat beechaaraa: the perfect essence of all reflection
Themes and Cross-Connections
Ik Onkar becomes everyday ethics: since everyone is khasam kaa kee-aa, the One's own doing, to belittle another is to belittle the One. Freedom is not leaving the world but moving through it un-owned by it. A gentle critique of formalism (no ritual purifies by itself) echoes Shabad 34.
For Raag Sorath
Sorath's contentment is the un-swinging heart — free of the compulsive high/low — that stays settled amid the world's tangles.
Translation Notes
Janam maran... aavat baaro baaraa read as the restless circling of an unsettled life.
The whole world swings high and low, caught in attachment and doubt; only in good company and the teaching does one cross over — and never belittle anyone, for all are the One's own making.
The Arc
Four stanzas. Pauri 0: creation is swept up in attachment, swinging high and low; no ritual purifies by itself. Rahau (Pauri 1): freedom is in the shelter of the good; the heart that is full stays un-entangled. Pauri 2: never speak ill of anyone — all are the One's creation. Pauri 3: the Highest lifts everyone; without the teaching no one crosses — this is the whole essence.
Key Vocabulary
Themes and Cross-Connections
Ik Onkar becomes everyday ethics: since everyone is khasam kaa kee-aa, the One's own doing, to belittle another is to belittle the One. Freedom is not leaving the world but moving through it un-owned by it. A gentle critique of formalism (no ritual purifies by itself) echoes Shabad 34.
For Raag Sorath
Sorath's contentment is the un-swinging heart — free of the compulsive high/low — that stays settled amid the world's tangles.
Translation Notes
Janam maran... aavat baaro baaraa read as the restless circling of an unsettled life.