Being Smart Never Substitutes for Being Good
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Being educated is no excuse for doing wrong, and being unschooled doesn't make you any less good.
What you actually do is what shapes who you are — so don't play a game that leaves you empty in the end.
The Pauree levels a common form of pride — the pride of the educated over the unlettered. It says plainly: if an educated person is a sinner, the illiterate holy person is not to be punished — meaning book-learning doesn't earn you a pass to do wrong, and lacking schooling doesn't make you less worthy. As are the deeds done, so is the reputation. What counts is not your diploma but your actions. For a child, especially one growing up where school achievement is prized, this is a grounding truth: being smart or well-schooled is fine, but it never substitutes for being good. Your deeds, not your credentials, are what you truly are.
Why doesn't being clever or well-educated automatically make someone a good person?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI