ਜੋ ਪ੍ਰਾਨੀ ਮਮਤਾ ਤਜੈ ਲੋਭ ਮੋਹ ਅਹੰਕਾਰ ॥

ਕਹੁ ਨਾਨਕ ਆਪਨ ਤਰੈ ਅਉਰਨ ਲੇਤ ਉਧਾਰ ॥੨੨॥

Jo Praani Mamtaa Tajai Lobh Moh Ahamkaar |

Kaho Naanak Aapan Tarai Auran Let Udhaar | 22 |

The person who liberates himself from the attachment-ego,

And lets the greed, world-attraction and body-ego forgo.

Says Naanak, he will fortunately cross the emotion-sea,

And will help others to arrive at bliss-shore and be free.

Commentary: 

Guru Ji and all true gurus tell us to always remember God so we can live our life at fullest without any regrets and fears in our mind. We can help others to see path of bliss and devotion, without force and compelling them to do what we do but show them the path. If they are willing to take that path, bless them to achieve their goal of self-discovery through love and devotion.

Attachment-ego, because attachment exists due to the sense ego, I-ness. Crossing the emotion-sea means to be able understand our emotions, and not letting them control us. And being conscious of our emotions certainly does not mean to be without feelings or to be indifferent, but rather use them diligently and consciously. Body-ego, because when we speak of I, most of the time, we think of our self as body and mind, and we become forgetful of God, and that we are a soul. That is why we gain something either fame or riches we feel a sense of superiority and boost over it – “You know I did it”. In doing so, we do not realize that this body and mind are given by God, who dwells in every heart. According to this verse, we should not be egoistic and vainly proud. Guru Ji advices us to keep our mind in balance, for only a balanced (compassionate, empathetic) mind can truly be content, can truly enjoy that moment in which he/she is living, feel the grief of others and help others. 

Now, the five ropes that tie the legs and the arms of our mind are: Mamta, Ahamkaar, Lobh, Moh. Attachment-ego (Mamta) creates an imbalance, for we want to be at the centre of everything; body-ego (Ahamkaar) creates a disturbance in our mind and peace, for we want everything for our self to satisfy our ego; greed (Lobh) is running to after everything outside and get it more and more, therefore greed can cause panics in our heart if we do not get that object; and world-attraction (Moh) devours our peace, for we do not want to lose what we got, even at the moment of our death we cannot leave this. But all the attempts become vain for the lord of death will not listen to us at that moment.

P.S.

Ego is Latin (Ancient Roman Language) for I.