When Maya Falls at Your Feet: A Reflection on Guru Arjan Dev Ji’s Verses in Raag Raamkali (SGGS Ang 891–892)
Sri Guru Arjan Dev Ji gives us a spiritual formula with startling clarity and simplicity: the more you crave Maya, the more the enchantress eludes you.
When Maya Surrenders at Your Feet
Introduction: The Illusion We Chase
In one of the most profound spiritual compositions within Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, Guru Arjan Dev Ji offers a penetrating insight into the nature of attachment and liberation. Set in Raag Raamkali, this Shabad reveals how the world’s greatest illusion—Maya, or material attachment—entices the soul, eludes capture, and ultimately deceives. Yet, paradoxically, Guru Ji says, when the seeker renounces Maya, she falls at their feet.
What is this “she” that Guru Ji speaks of? The subject of the Shabad is addressed in unmistakably feminine grammatical terms—“pakrī” (caught), “chālī” (departed), “charṇī pāī” (fell at the feet). But the question arises: is this a woman, the ego, or Maya? In the Sikh interpretive tradition, there is overwhelming clarity: this “she” is not a commentary on feminine gender collectively, nor on individual women. Rather, it is a powerful metaphor for Maya—the illusion of materialism and desire—that binds the human soul in worldly entrapments. This article is but a humble attempt to unpack that metaphor in full spiritual detail.
Raag Raamkali: The Raag of Inner Renunciation
This Shabad is composed in Raag Raamkali—a musical framework used in Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji to express deep spiritual awakening, transformation, and the resolve to renounce illusion. Raamkali evokes an inner churning, a sense of standing at a spiritual crossroads, where the soul must either continue clinging to worldly deception or turn inward toward eternal truth. That emotional pitch makes Raamkali the perfect canvas for Guru Ji’s discourse on Maya’s nature.
The Shabad: Verses with Translation and Interpretation
ਰਾਮਕਲੀ ਮਹਲਾ ੫ ॥
Raamkali, Fifth Mehl
ਗਹੁ ਕਰਿ ਪਕਰੀ ਨ ਆਈ ਹਾਥਿ ॥
No matter how hard you try to seize her, she slips through your hands.
ਪ੍ਰੀਤਿ ਕਰੀ ਚਾਲੀ ਨਹੀ ਸਾਥਿ ॥
No matter how much you may love her, she does not accompany you.
ਕਹੁ ਨਾਨਕ ਜਉ ਤਿਆਗਿ ਦਈ ॥
Says Nanak, when you let her go...
ਤਬ ਓਹ ਚਰਣੀ ਆਇ ਪਈ ॥੧॥
...then she comes and falls at your feet. ||1||
Guru Ji opens with a brilliant paradox: Maya cannot be possessed by force or love. The more you chase it, the more it slips away. You may love it, sacrifice for it, and invest your energy into it—but it will not walk with you beyond this life. But when you stop chasing—when you renounce attachment—the same Maya bows before you. It becomes powerless. This reversal is the core spiritual breakthrough Guru Ji is revealing.
ਸੁਣਿ ਸੰਤਹੁ ਨਿਰਮਲ ਬੀਚਾਰ ॥
Listen, O Saints! This is the pure teaching.
ਰਾਮ ਨਾਮ ਬਿਨੁ ਗਤਿ ਨਹੀ ਕਾਈ ਗੁਰੁ ਪੂਰਾ ਭੇਟਤ ਉਧਾਰ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
Without the Naam, the Lord’s Name, there is no salvation. Meeting the Perfect Guru, one is liberated. ||1||Pause||
Guru Ji now offers the key: only through Naam Simran and meeting the Perfect Guru can one be truly saved from Maya’s deceit. This is not philosophy but “nirmal beechaar”—pure contemplation. Maya may seem irresistible, but the Naam, received through the Guru, is the soul’s true anchor.
ਜਬ ਉਸ ਕਉ ਕੋਈ ਦੇਵੈ ਮਾਨੁ ॥
When someone tries to honor her...
ਤਬ ਆਪਸ ਊਪਰਿ ਰਖੈ ਗੁਮਾਨੁ ॥
...she becomes arrogant and full of pride.
ਜਬ ਉਸ ਕਉ ਕੋਈ ਮਨਿ ਪਰਹਰੈ ॥
But when one casts her out of the mind...
ਤਬ ਓਹ ਸੇਵਕਿ ਸੇਵਾ ਕਰੈ ॥੨॥
...she becomes like a slave to the servant of the Lord. ||2||
This verse lays bare Maya’s behavior: the more importance you give her, the stronger her grip on you. She becomes inflated with pride. But the moment you eject her from your mind—stop honoring, fearing, or begging from her—she begins to serve you. This is the ego and Maya in perfect psychological portrait: dominant when fed, obedient when ignored.
ਮੁਖਿ ਬੇਰਾਵੈ ਅੰਤਿ ਠਗਾਵੈ ॥
She flatters with sweet speech, but deceives in the end.
ਇਕਤੁ ਠਉਰ ਓਹ ਕਹੀ ਨ ਸਮਾਵੈ ॥
She never stays in one place; she is always on the move.
ਉਨਿ ਮੋਹੇ ਬਹੁਤੇ ਬ੍ਰਹਮੰਡ ॥
She has bewitched countless universes.
ਰਾਮ ਜਨੀ ਕੀਨੀ ਖੰਡ ਖੰਡ ॥੩॥
But the humble servant of the Lord tears her into pieces. ||3||
Maya is not loyal. She smiles sweetly and whispers promises, but ultimately betrays. She unsettles the soul—never allowing it peace in one place—and has deceived even the gods and celestial worlds. Yet, Guru Ji reminds us that the spiritual warrior—the humble servant of the Lord—can conquer her completely, fragmenting her influence through the sword of Naam.
ਜੋ ਮਾਗੈ ਸੋ ਭੂਖਾ ਰਹੈ ॥
Whoever begs from her remains forever hungry.
ਇਸੁ ਸੰਗਿ ਰਾਚੈ ਸੁ ਕਛੂ ਨ ਲਹੈ ॥
Whoever is absorbed in her gains nothing.
ਇਸਹਿ ਤਿਆਗਿ ਸਤਸੰਗਤਿ ਕਰੈ ॥
But one who renounces her and joins the company of the saints...
ਵਡਭਾਗੀ ਨਾਨਕ ਓਹੁ ਤਰੈ ॥੪॥੧੮॥੨੯॥
...O Nanak! That most fortunate one is liberated. ||4||18||29||
This is the culmination of the Shabad’s teaching: begging from Maya never satisfies; immersion in her never yields peace. But the one who renounces Maya and aligns with the Satsangat (the holy congregation) is the one who crosses the ocean of illusion. Liberation, Guru Ji tells us, is not for those who chase Maya—but for those who abandon her in favor of divine remembrance and saintly company.
Is the “She” Ego, Maya, or Womanhood? Clarifying the Metaphor
The repeated use of the feminine pronoun in this Shabad has raised the question: Who is this “she”? From the earliest Sikh commentaries to modern scholarly exegesis, the answer is unanimous: the “she” is not a literal woman, but Maya personified in feminine terms.
In Punjabi and Sanskrit, Maya is grammatically feminine, and Gurbani often uses feminine language to describe concepts like Moh (attachment), Trishna (desire), and Haumai (ego). Guru Arjan Dev Ji is not critiquing women, but using the age-old metaphor of the seductress to describe illusion and desire—as many spiritual traditions have done. The point is not gender; the point is enslavement to material charm and liberation through detachment.
Some modern scholars also interpret the Shabad as a commentary on Haumai, the ego, since the behavior described—swelling with pride when honored, becoming servile when ignored—is a perfect portrait of ego. But this is not a contradictory interpretation. Ego is one of the most powerful tools of Maya. Whether one sees the Shabad as addressing Maya broadly or the ego specifically, the message is the same: renounce attachment, honor the Naam, and Maya loses its dominion.
Conclusion: Letting Go, Rising Above
Guru Arjan Dev Ji gives us a spiritual formula with startling clarity and simplicity: the more you crave Maya, the more she eludes you. The more you love her, the more she abandons you. But let her go—and she bows. This is not about running away from the world. It is about mastering one's inner world. By walking the path of Naam Simran, and seeking the Satsangat, the Sikh does not become an ascetic but a sovereign—one before whom Maya falls in defeat.
When the soul stops begging and starts remembering, stops clinging and starts chanting, Maya loses her throne. She who once ruled over you will now serve you. And in that moment, the soul rises—not through conquest, but through renunciation. Not through hatred of Maya, but through freedom from her illusion.
Guru Arjan Dev Ji, through a Shabad wrapped in humility and poetic grace, teaches us this: you do not defeat Maya by grabbing her—you defeat her by walking away.
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ਇਸੁ ਜਰ ਕਾਰਣਿ ਘਣੀ ਵਿਗੁਤੀ ਇਨਿ ਜਰ ਘਣੀ ਖੁਆਈ ॥
ਪਾਪਾ ਬਾਝਹੁ ਹੋਵੈ ਨਾਹੀ ਮੁਇਆ ਸਾਥਿ ਨ ਜਾਈ ॥
ਜਿਸਨੋ ਆਪਿ ਖੁਆਏ ਕਰਤਾ ਖੁਸਿ ਲਏ ਚੰਗਿਆਈ ॥
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