Gurbani Word Of The Day: avaas

ਅਵਾਸ (avaas) Meaning: noun: Abode, house.

Quote: ਕਬੀਰ ਗਰਬੁ ਨ ਕੀਜੀਐ   ਊਚਾ ਦੇਖਿ ਅਵਾਸੁ॥ ਆਜੁ ਕਾਲਿ ਭੁਇ ਲੇਟਣਾ   ਊਪਰਿ ਜਾਮੈ ਘਾਸੁ॥ kabeer garab na keejee-ai   oochaa dekh avaas. aaj kaalh bhui leṭṇaa   oopar jaamai ghaas.

Kabir! One should not be so proud while looking at one’s lofty house. Today or tomorrow, one will lie beneath the ground, and grass will grow above it. – Bhagat Kabir, Guru Granth Sahib, 1366

Message: Besides our social status, beauty or wealth, we also feel unduly proud of our lofty mansions or other worldly possessions.

We tend to forget or ignore that, sooner or later, we have to depart from this world, leaving these lofty houses behind.

After death, if we are buried underground, grass would grow on the grave. If we are cremated, and our ashes immersed in a river, they will also become part of the earth someday.

People may talk about us for a while, and our posh or expensive mansions and dwellings will be someone else’s in no time. Why then take so much pride in transient possessions?

Etymology: From Sanskrit aavaas (abode, house) → Pali → Prakrit → Gurbani avaas.

 

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