Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Love dies. Affection fades. Hatred and alienation die. Entanglements end.
Egotism dies. Attachment to appearances dies. Possessiveness and anger die.
Those who receive the True Lord's mercy — everything that is not essential in them dies away too. And what remains is what was always real.
This pauri is remarkable: not only the negative qualities (hatred, egotism, anger) but also the positive ones (love, affection) are said to die. This seems counterintuitive until you understand that Guru Nanak is describing the death of the conditional versions of these — love that attaches, affection that clings.
What remains after this dying-away is not the absence of love but love without the ego's interference. The mystic's love is not less than ordinary love — it is love without the fear of loss, because nothing is left to be lost.
Have you experienced love that didn't need anything from the other person? What made it different from love that had conditions?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI