???? (hastee)
Meaning: noun: Elephant.
Quote:
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???? (???? ????-???�?????) ?? ?? ??? ?? ??? ????? ??, ??? ?? (??) ???? ????? ??? (???) ?????? ??, ?????? ??, ?????-???? ??????? ??, ?? ???? (??? ???-??? ) ???? ??? ?? ???????? ???
sau ma? hastee ghiu gu? khaavai ��pa?j sai daa?aa khaai.
?akai phookai kheh u?aavai ��saah ga-i-ai pachhutaai.
(During his lifetime) an elephant eats a hundred pounds of ghee and jaggery and five hundred pounds of corn. (After eating) he belches, grunts, and scatters dust, but when the breath leaves him, he regrets it. -Guru Nanak Sahib, Guru Granth Sahib, 1286
Message: An elephant is a very large animal. It consumes a huge amount of food. But even such a big and mighty creature, becomes old and weak, and sooner or later, breathes its last.
In the same way, one may consider oneself larger than average and boast about one�s affluence and power, but the end is the same: all come from dust and all return to dust. Only by overcoming our sense of egoism can we be pleasing to the Divine and receive Divine love and grace.
Etymology: From Sanskrit hastin (having hands or clever with the hands, elephant), which evolved to haathee in many modern Indian languages, such as Old Bengali, Bihari, Awadhi, Punjabi, Hindi, etc.
