Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
There are so many places — I have wandered through them all.
The masters of wealth and the great landlords have fallen, crying out: 'This is mine! This is mine!'
The possessive cry is the sound of those who are falling. They clutch tighter as they go down.
The dhan maal ke saamante (masters of wealth and great lords) who fall while crying "mine, mine" (mera mera) — the possessive cry is literally the sound of their fall. This is vivid: they fall crying about what they own, which is precisely what they are losing as they fall.
Guru Arjan has "wandered many places" (bahut thaao phiriaa) — this is both literal (he traveled) and spiritual (he has searched). The wandering has taught him: the ones who accumulate and possess are not the ones at peace. The evidence is everywhere.
Is there something you say 'mine' about in a way that actually creates more anxiety than peace? What would it feel like to hold it more lightly?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI