Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Plenty of people are human only in their shape and their name. By how they act, they have forgotten what a human is for.
But grace can help you live like a guest here. A guest is light and grateful, not grabbing. A guest knows they are only passing through.
Live that way, and you are honored where it truly matters.
This one says: live in the world like a guest.
The verse is blunt. Some are human only in shape and name. Karnee kutaa — by their deeds, they are like dogs. This judges how people act, never who they are by birth. That is the opposite of caste, the old system of sorting families as high or low.
Then comes the cure, a lovely picture. Gur parsaad jaanai mihmaan — by the Guru's grace, a person knows he is a guest (mihmaan). Think of staying over at a friend's house. You enjoy it, say thank you, and leave the room tidy. You don't try to take the furniture home.
This is antar vairaag, inner letting-go, right in the middle of ordinary life. It is the path of the householder, someone living with family and work. Live that way, and dargeh paavai maan — you are honored in the One's court.
What would change if you treated today as a place you are visiting, not one you own?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI