Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
The self-willed manmukh is a rock, a stone — a life cursed and wasted.
Keep a stone underwater as long as you like: at its core, it stays dry.
You can sit in a river for a hundred years and still stay dry inside, unless you let the water in.
Guru Nanak gives a picture that is hard to forget: a stone in the river. Jal meh kaytaa raakhee-ai abh antar sookaa — however long you keep it in water, inside it stays dry. The stone is soaked all around, yet nothing gets in.
The manmukh, a person who follows only their own wants, can be like that. They may be surrounded by good people and by kirtan, singing the One's praises. They are wet on the outside and dry inside. This takes the rocky-ground picture from earlier as far as it can go. And it changes the question. It's not "Are you in the water?" It's "Does the water get in?" Think of a sponge and a stone in the same sink. Both get wet, but only the sponge soaks it up.
You are surrounded by good influences — family, teachings, love. Is the water getting in?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI