ਸੰਪਤਿ ਰਥ ਧਨ ਰਾਜ ਸਿਉ ਅਤਿ ਨੇਹੁ ਲਗਾਇਓ ॥
sampat rath Dhan raaj si-o at nayhu lagaa-i-o.
You are so in love with property, chariots, wealth and power.
ਕਾਲ ਫਾਸ ਜਬ ਗਲਿ ਪਰੀ ਸਭ ਭਇਓ ਪਰਾਇਓ ॥੧॥
kaal faas jab gal paree sabh bha-i-o paraa-i-o. ||1||
When the noose of death tightens around your neck, they will all belong to others. ||1||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
You're so in love with property, chariots, wealth and power.
When the end tightens its grip, all of it will belong to others.
What you grip tightly and call 'mine' simply passes to other hands — so hold it, but loosen the grip.
The verse names the great attachments — "property, chariots, wealth and power" — and their plain destiny: "they will all belong to others." What we grip so tightly and call "mine" simply passes to other hands. This is not a condemnation of having things but a loosening of the grip: hold them, use them, but know they are on loan and will move on. The love that clings to them is love misplaced.
A Question to Sit With
What do you grip most tightly as 'mine'? What would holding it more loosely feel like?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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