ਜਾਨਿ ਬੂਝ ਕੈ ਬਾਵਰੇ ਤੈ ਕਾਜੁ ਬਿਗਾਰਿਓ ॥
jaan boojh kai baavray tai kaaj bigaari-o.
Know this well, O madman - you have ruined your affairs.
ਪਾਪ ਕਰਤ ਸੁਕਚਿਓ ਨਹੀ ਨਹ ਗਰਬੁ ਨਿਵਾਰਿਓ ॥੨॥
paap karat sukchi-o nahee nah garab nivaari-o. ||2||
You did not restrain yourself from committing sins, and you did not eradicate your ego. ||2||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Know this well, restless one — you've let your own affairs go to ruin.
You didn't rein in your wrongs, and you didn't clear out your ego.
The two tasks that matter most are governing your actions and dissolving your pride — leaving them undone is its own ruin.
The verse is frank about self-caused trouble: "you have ruined your affairs" by not restraining harm and not clearing the ego. Read as a friend's honesty, not a curse, it names the two undone tasks that matter most — governing one's actions and dissolving one's pride. The "ruin" is not a punishment imposed from outside but the natural result of leaving these two things undone. Naming it plainly is the first step to doing them.
A Question to Sit With
Which is more undone in you right now — reining in a harm, or letting go of some pride?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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