Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
O my mind, stay steady — don't go wandering off.
Searching all over the outside only brings you ache after ache, when the sweet nectar is right here inside the home of your own heart.
Let go of what weighs you down and reach for the good — chasing harm only leaves you sorry afterward. It's easy to lose the difference between what lifts you and what sinks you, and slip back into the mud again and again.
The rahaao: man ray thir rahu — "O mind, stay steady, don't wander." The core image: baahar dhoodhat bahut dukh paavahi, ghar amrit ghat maahee — "searching outside brings pain; the nectar is inside your own heart." This is the shabad's whole message. The back half's avgun / gunaa (faults vs. virtues) is framed as "what weighs you down" vs. "the good," and "sinking in the mud" is kept as a gentle image of relapse, not a condemnation. The tone the project asks for: fault is something to gently set down, not a crime — the mud is easy to slip into, and easy, with steadiness, to climb out of.
Where do you tend to look for happiness outside yourself that you might already have within?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI