Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
This mind is very strong. We cannot get free of it just by trying.
In the love of duality, people suffer pain and are given heavy punishment.
O Nanak, those who hold on to the Name are saved. Through the Word, their ego is sent away.
This one says the mind is very strong, and only the Word can calm it.
Ih manoo-aa at sabal hai — this mind is very strong. Chhaday na kitai upaa-ay — no trick of ours shakes it off. Guru Amar Das is honest about the mind. Even the great sages, the Rishis and Munis, were beaten by their own minds.
This isn't meant to discourage us. It's like a doctor naming the problem so the right medicine can be given. The ego is a stubborn, long-lasting illness. The Guru is the doctor. The Word is the medicine. You can't beat the mind from outside it. You have to go in through the Word.
Think of an enemy already inside a castle's walls. Guarding the gate outside does nothing.
Doojai bhaa-ay dukh laa-idaa — loving "two," other things in place of the One, brings pain and heavy punishment. Naanak naam lagay say ubray — those who hold on to the Name are saved. Through the Word, the ego is sent away.
If egotism is a disease, what are its symptoms in your life? Not in general — specifically in you. What does it look like when it flares up?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI