Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
The minds and bodies of the self-willed manmukhs are filled with darkness. They find no shelter, no place of rest.
Through countless incarnations they wander lost — like crows in a deserted house.
Through the Guru's teachings, the heart is illuminated. Through the Shabad, the Name enters the mind.
This one says a heart without the Name is like an empty house, and the Guru's teaching lights it up.
The manmukh is the person who follows only their own wants. Their mind and body are dark inside. They find nowhere to rest.
Ji-o sunjai ghar kaa-o — like a crow in an empty house. This is one of Guru Amar Das's sharpest pictures. In old Indian belief the crow was a bird of bad news. Imagine it in an empty house. No family, no voices. Just its harsh cawing in hollow rooms.
That is how a mind without the Name feels from inside. Empty and dark, full of the noise of pride and fear.
Then the light comes on. Gurmatee ghat chaannaa — through the Guru's teaching, the heart is lit. Think of a house at dusk when someone flips the switch, and suddenly it feels like home again. Through the Word, the Name is received.
What 'inhabits' your mind in its empty moments — when there's no distraction, no task? Is that company you'd choose?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI