Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Attachment to Maya is an ocean of darkness — you can't see this shore or the one beyond.
The ignorant manmukhs suffer terribly and drown because they forget the Lord's Name.
They wake up every morning and perform rituals — but they are caught in duality.
Those who serve the True Guru cross the terrifying world-ocean.
Gurmukhs keep the True Name enshrined in their hearts and are absorbed into the True One.
"Neither shore can be seen"
Māyā moh uh andherā, kinaṛā na lei dīse — "attachment to Maya is an ocean of darkness; neither this shore nor the one beyond can be seen." When fully inside Maya — when the soul is completely captured by attachment to the world — it cannot see where it came from (this shore) or where it is going (the beyond). Complete disorientation.
The one who is drowning in the middle of an ocean of darkness has no reference points. This is the manmukh's condition: not just struggling to reach the far shore, but unable to see either shore. The Guru's function is to make visible what the darkness has obscured.
Rituals without Naam — not enough
Nit uthai karam kamaavde, dūjai bhāi lagā'e — "They arise in the morning and perform all sorts of rituals, but they are caught in the love of duality." The morning rituals are real and regular. But dūjai bhāi (love of duality) means the heart's primary attachment is elsewhere — the Lord is not the center. Ritual without the Name is performed correctly but without effect.
The Gurmukh crosses the terrifying ocean
Jin satgur sevi'ā, se bhai tarr jā'in — "Those who serve the True Guru cross over the terrifying world-ocean." The same ocean that cannot be seen across, that neither shore is visible in, is crossed by those who serve the True Guru. The Guru provides what the ocean of darkness took away: orientation, direction, and a vessel to cross in.
*Think of a time when you were so deep inside a difficult situation that you couldn't see a way out. What or who helped you see a direction? What did that feel like?*
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI