The owl is mentioned only one time by Guruji. In the Western tradition, the owl symbolizes wisdom, a keeness of sight perhaps the basis for this belief. Thus, going far back into pagan times and even today, the owl is understood to be a familiar of other planes of knowledge. An owl might be the companion of a witch, sorcerer or shaman. We say "wise as an owl." However, in Gurbani the owl is seen quite differently. The owl is not seen as wise. ਸੰਪਤ ਦੋਲ ਝੋਲ ਸੰਗਿ ਝੂਲਤ ਮਾਇਆ ਮਗਨ ਭ੍ਰਮਤ ਘੁਘਨਾ ॥ sanpath dhol jhol sang jhoolath maaeiaa magan bhramath ghughanaa || You swing in the swing of wealth, intoxicated with Maya, and you wander around like an owl. In the old Punjab, to see an owl perched on the rooftop of a house or on a tree nearby was considered to be a bad omen, perhaps even predicting a death, but certainly indicating that the events of the day would come to a sad end.