Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
A person set against the good breaks down halfway to everywhere - things just stop working out.
They wander their own inner wilderness, misled into empty places.
Inside, hollow - like a body with no breath in it. Nothing solid behind them, nothing growing ahead except what they planted - and that harvest is theirs to eat alone.
No one else can pull them out. And yet - if it pleases the Saint, even they are saved.
This one says words are seeds, and the one who plants them eats the harvest.
The pictures here turn empty, and then turn to farming. Sant kaa dokhee adh beech tay tootai — the slanderer breaks down halfway. His plans fall apart in the middle. That is because the energy that should finish things is spent tearing others down. All of a life's horsepower goes into knocking down, and none is left for building.
Then comes the picture of a body with no breath in it, empty inside. It shows the hollowness under all the noise. Slander is loud exactly because something central has stopped breathing.
Then the farm law, as plain as it gets. Aapan beej aapay hee khaahi — he eats what he himself has planted. Beej means seed. This is Gurbani's teaching of karma, told without any myths: you reap what you sow. Words are seeds. The tongue is the planter. The harvest does not check who you meant it for. Think of planting weeds in your own garden. Weeds are what you will be picking.
Sant kay dokhee ka-o avar na raakhanhaar — no one else can save the slanderer. That sets up the mercy line perfectly. When every other rescuer is ruled out, only the hurt person's mercy is left. And it comes. Naanak sant bhaavai taa la-ay ubaar — if it pleases the saint, even he is saved.
If someone is being unkind to you or hurting you, that is never something you have to accept. Telling a grown-up you trust is always the right thing to do.
What have you been planting lately with your words - and would you want to eat that crop yourself?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI