Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
The self-willed manmukhs are polluted. They are filled with the pollution of egotism, wickedness, and desire.
Without the Shabad, this pollution is not washed off. Through the cycle of death and rebirth, they waste away in misery.
Engrossed in this transitory drama, they are not at home in this world or the next.
This line says: a mind ruled by "me first" gets dirty, and only the Guru's Word can wash it clean.
Manmukh mailay mal bharay: the manmukh is dirty, full of grime. A manmukh is a person who follows only their own wants instead of the Guru.
The dirt has names. Ha-umai is ego, the proud "me first" voice. Tarisnaa is endless wanting. Vikaar means wrong, harmful ways. These are not random mistakes. They grow naturally when "me" sits at the center.
Bin sabdai mail na utrai: without the Shabad, the Guru's Word, this dirt does not come off. Think of dishes with dried food. Rinsing with plain water won't do it. You need soap. The Word is that soap.
Without it, such a person keeps going round the circle of dying and being born, and wastes away in sorrow.
Dhaatur baajee palach rahay: they are tangled up in a baajee, a passing show, a game. They take the game for the whole of life. So naa urvaar na paar: they are at home on neither shore, not in this world and not in the next.
The Gurmukh can watch the same show without getting lost in it.
What is a 'drama' in your life — something that feels urgent and all-consuming — that you suspect might look smaller from a wider perspective? What would the wider perspective show you?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI