Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
He may be called chief, emperor, king, governor, or lord. He may present himself as a great leader.
But this identity — this presentation of himself as great — burns him in the fire of egotistical pride.
The manmukh has forgotten the Name. He is like straw in a forest fire.
Raja rah-aa patisaahaa, raanaa vadbaalee — he may be called raja (king), emperor (patisaahaa), governor (raanaa), or great lord (vadbaalee). The escalation of titles reflects the escalation of ego: each title is larger than the last. In the context of the ashtapadee's arc, these titles are the high point of what an earlier verse described — the palaces and armies have now produced a person who has become the title.
Aapoo aap ganaavdaa, haumai khat jaalee — but this self-presentation (aapoo aap — himself proclaiming himself) burns him (jaalee — burned, scorched) in the fire of egotistical pride (haumai khat). The very act of taking on and presenting these titles is what consumes the person. Not someone else burning them — they burn themselves. Haumai (ego, the "I am") as fire: not cleansing fire but consuming fire.
Manmukh bhulaa naama vinaa, kahu tinaa kitee baalee — the manmukh has forgotten the Naam; what has burned for them? Kahu tinaa kitee baalee — look at what has burned for them. The answer is implicit: they are like straw (tinaa — grass, straw) in a forest fire (baalee — fire, conflagration). The ego-identity, the titles, the presentation — all straw. All burning. The Naam was the only thing that wouldn't burn, and they forgot it.
What is a title or role you hold onto that you know, deep down, is not who you actually are — and what would happen if you let it go?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI