Salok Vaaraan Te Vadheek (Mehl 4), Salok 119 — rituals that miss the heart
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
The poor one who follows only their own mind does not understand the Hukam, the flow of life, and keeps acting from ego.
Through fasts, vows, purity, self-control and worship, the show and the doubt still do not go away.
Inside they are unclean, pierced by clinging to Maya, like an elephant that throws dust over itself right after its bath.
They do not think of the One who made them; without remembering the One, how can they find peace?
Nanak says: the Creator made this whole play of the world from the beginning; each one does what was written for them before.
Outer rituals cannot clean a heart that forgets the One who made it.
Manmukh hukam na bujhay: the one who follows only their own mind does not understand the flow of existence. The elephant that bathes and then throws dust on itself, hastee chhaar udaa-ay, is a picture of washing undone at once because the heart has not changed. The point is aimed at empty show in any tradition; fasting, vows and worship are honored when the heart is in them.
Jin upaa-ay tisai na cheeteh: they do not remember the One who made them. Parpanch, the play of the world, is the Creator's doing.
Have you ever done all the "right" steps of something without meaning it?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI