Savaiye of the Fifth Master (Sri Mukhbak), Verse 20 — effort without remembrance brings pain
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
People try hard in every way they can. They study the six Shastras, the old books of learning, from every side.
They rub ashes on their bodies and wander from one holy place to another. They go without food until their bodies are thin, and they tie their hair into tangled knots.
Without loving remembrance of the One, all of them end up in pain, caught in the tangle of what they love, like thread knotted round and round.
They perform worship, draw holy marks on their bodies, cook their food by strict rules, and put on all kinds of grand shows.
Every effort, without loving remembrance of the One, still ends in pain.
The verse lists what people tried in those days. They studied the six Shaastras, the old books of learning. They rubbed ashes on their bodies. They wandered from one holy place to the next. They went without food and let their hair grow into tangles. They drew holy marks on their skin and cooked their food by strict rules.
Bin har bhajan sagal dukh paavat — without loving remembrance of the One, all of it brings dukh, pain.
The verse pictures thread (soot) wound round and round until it knots. Effort without love for the One can be like that. It gets tighter, not freer.
The list is aimed at no single faith. It speaks to every tradition. The question is never which practice. It is whether loving remembrance of the One is inside it.
Think of something you work hard at. What changes when you do it with love instead of just to get it done?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI