????? ??????? (mrig trisnaa)
Meaning: noun: Literally, thirst or craving of a deer for water in the desert; mirage, deception and illusion.
Quote:
????? ??????? ??? ?? ???? ?? � ????? ???? ???????
mrig thrisnaa jiu jag rachnaa yah�� dekhahu ridai bichaar.
(O human!) Reflect upon this in your mind and see that the world is like a mirage (deception and illusion). – Guru Tegh Bahadar Sahib, Guru Granth Sahib, Page 536
Message: The verse here reminds us to reflect that the world is like a mirage, full of illusions, falsehood, delusions and duality.
For example, shining sand in a hot summer appears to be a lake of water in the distance to a deer. Fooled by the illusion of water, the deer runs towards it, only to lose its life from exhaustion, thirst or when there is a predator nearby.
Similarly, humans deluded by the glitters of the world, exhaust themselves chasing after worldly objects of sensual pleasure till their energies are exhausted or they get into greater entanglements in life. They become slaves and victims of their own unnecessary desires, never realising that both their thirst, and what they believe will quench it, are unreal and therefore not satisfying.
Like the thirsty traveller, they leap into the mirage of a false world which they have created in their minds. In the struggle against their own sometimes vicious desires and overwhelming greed or infatuation for power to rob the poor, the powerful finally succumb to their limitations by becoming victims of their own self-created mirage.
Notes: There is no exact equivalent to mrig thrisnaa. Mirage seems to be the closest term in English. According to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, a�mirage�is:
- an effect caused by hot air in a desert, which makes you think that you can see objects when they are not actually there.
- a dream, hope, or wish that cannot come true�(illusion).
Etymology: Compound of mrig from Sanskrit mrug (dear) and trisnaa from Sanskrit trush?aa (thirst, craving).
