Verse 18 of 152
Salok Vaaraan Te Vadheek (Mehl 1), Salok 18 — Don't Burn the Body, Look Within
ਤਨੁ ਨ ਤਪਾਇ ਤਨੂਰ ਜਿਉ ਬਾਲਣੁ ਹਡ ਨ ਬਾਲਿ ॥
tan na tapaa-ay tanoor ji-o baalan had na baal.
Do not heat your body like a furnace, or burn your bones like firewood.
ਸਿਰਿ ਪੈਰੀ ਕਿਆ ਫੇੜਿਆ ਅੰਦਰਿ ਪਿਰੀ ਸਮ੍ਹ੍ਹਾਲਿ ॥੧੮॥
sir pairee ki-aa fayrhi-aa andar piree samHaal. ||18||
What have your head and feet done wrong? See your Husband Lord within yourself. ||18||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Do not make your body suffer like an oven kept hot, and do not treat your bones like firewood.
What wrong have your head and feet done? Look for your Beloved inside yourself.
The body did nothing wrong; look for the Beloved within.
The Beloved is found inside, so the body has no need to suffer.
Tan na tapaa-ay tanoor ji-o: do not heat the body like an oven. Some people in Guru Nanak's time put their bodies through hard trials, hoping to become holy. Sir pairee ki-aa fayrhi-aa: what have the head and feet done wrong? The body is not the problem.
Andar piree samHaal: hold the Beloved inside, close and cared for.
A Question to Sit With
Where do you find the One when you look inside yourself?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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