Verse 3 of 4
When Self-Importance Runs the Show, Good Stays Out of Reach
ਹਉਮੈ ਵਿਚਿ ਭਗਤਿ ਨ ਹੋਵਈ ਹੁਕਮੁ ਨ ਬੁਝਿਆ ਜਾਇ ॥
ha-umai vich bhagat na hova-ee hukam na bujhi-aa jaa-ay.
In egotism, devotional worship cannot be performed, and the Hukam of the Lord's Command cannot be understood.
ਹਉਮੈ ਵਿਚਿ ਜੀਉ ਬੰਧੁ ਹੈ ਨਾਮੁ ਨ ਵਸੈ ਮਨਿ ਆਇ ॥੩॥
ha-umai vich jee-o banDh hai naam na vasai man aa-ay. ||3||
In egotism, the soul is in bondage, and the Naam, the Name of the Lord, does not come to abide in the mind. ||3||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
When the self-important feeling runs the show, it's hard to give freely or to sense the deeper flow of things.
It keeps us a bit stuck, and the good stays just out of reach.
When the self-important feeling runs the show, it keeps us a bit stuck and the good just out of reach.
The verse describes ego's effects plainly: "in egotism, devotional worship cannot be performed, and the Hukam cannot be understood... the soul is in bondage, and the Name does not come to abide." Ego keeps us stuck — unable to give freely or to feel the larger flow — and holds the good just out of reach. It's diagnosis, not condemnation: this is simply what self-importance does.
A Question to Sit With
What happens to your day when 'me first' is running the show?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
Use ← → to navigate