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Sikhism·Aasaa Kee Vaar·Aasaa Kee Vaar, Pauri 1
Verse 65 of 85

What Comes Out of Your Mouth Matters More

ਸਲੋਕੁ ਮਃ ੧ ॥
salok mehlaa 1.
Shalok, First Mehl:
ਪਹਿਲਾ ਸੁਚਾ ਆਪਿ ਹੋਇ ਸੁਚੈ ਬੈਠਾ ਆਇ ॥
pahilaa suchaa aap ho-ay suchai baithaa aa-ay.
First, purifying himself, the Brahmin comes and sits in his purified enclosure.
ਸੁਚੇ ਅਗੈ ਰਖਿਓਨੁ ਕੋਇ ਨ ਭਿਟਿਓ ਜਾਇ ॥
suchay agai rakhi-on ko-ay na bhiti-o jaa-ay.
The pure foods, which no one else has touched, are placed before him.
ਸੁਚਾ ਹੋਇ ਕੈ ਜੇਵਿਆ ਲਗਾ ਪੜਣਿ ਸਲੋਕੁ ॥
suchaa ho-ay kai jayvi-aa lagaa parhan salok.
Being purified, he takes his food, and begins to read his sacred verses.
ਕੁਹਥੀ ਜਾਈ ਸਟਿਆ ਕਿਸੁ ਏਹੁ ਲਗਾ ਦੋਖੁ ॥
kuhthee jaa-ee sati-aa kis ayhu lagaa dokh.
But it is then thrown into a filthy place - whose fault is this?
ਅੰਨੁ ਦੇਵਤਾ ਪਾਣੀ ਦੇਵਤਾ ਬੈਸੰਤਰੁ ਦੇਵਤਾ ਲੂਣੁ ਪੰਜਵਾ ਪਾਇਆ ਘਿਰਤੁ ॥
ann dayvtaa paanee dayvtaa baisantar dayvtaa loon panjvaa paa-i-aa ghirat.
The corn is sacred, the water is sacred; the fire and salt are sacred as well; when the fifth thing, the ghee, is added,
ਤਾ ਹੋਆ ਪਾਕੁ ਪਵਿਤੁ ॥
taa ho-aa paak pavit.
then the food becomes pure and sanctified.
ਪਾਪੀ ਸਿਉ ਤਨੁ ਗਡਿਆ ਥੁਕਾ ਪਈਆ ਤਿਤੁ ॥
paapee si-o tan gadi-aa thukaa pa-ee-aa tit.
Coming into contact with the sinful human body, the food becomes so impure that is is spat upon.
ਜਿਤੁ ਮੁਖਿ ਨਾਮੁ ਨ ਊਚਰਹਿ ਬਿਨੁ ਨਾਵੈ ਰਸ ਖਾਹਿ ॥
jit mukh naam na oochrahi bin naavai ras khaahi.
That mouth which does not chant the Naam, and without the Name eats tasty foods
ਨਾਨਕ ਏਵੈ ਜਾਣੀਐ ਤਿਤੁ ਮੁਖਿ ਥੁਕਾ ਪਾਹਿ ॥੧॥
naanak ayvai jaanee-ai tit mukh thukaa paahi. ||1||
- O Nanak, know this: such a mouth is to be spat upon. ||1||

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa

In plain words

People go to enormous trouble to make food 'ritually pure' — but a mouth is only truly worthy if it speaks goodness.

All the fuss over pure food misses the point: what comes OUT of your mouth matters more than rules about what goes in.

It matters far more what comes out of your mouth — kind, honest words — than fussy rules about what goes in.
The deeper layer

This shalok gently mocks the elaborate purity rituals around food — the Brahmin purifying himself, sitting in a purified enclosure, eating specially untouched food. Nanak notes the absurdity: however 'pure' the food, it passes through the body anyway, so the fuss is misplaced. The real point lands at the end: the mouth that does not chant the Name — that speaks no goodness — is the one that's truly worthless, no matter how pure its diet. In other words, don't obsess over what goes into your mouth by ritual rules; care about what comes out of it — kind words, honest words, praise. A mouth is made worthy by what it speaks, not by what special food it was allowed to eat.

A Question to Sit With

Which matters more: rules about what you eat, or the kindness of what you say?

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI

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