Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Keep the One in your mind, not just on your lips — real closeness is more than saying the words.
Hold the wise path close to your heart, and old mistakes lose their weight and fall away.
The verse draws a clear line: mukhi kahi-ai... na paa-i-aa — by mere words no one has ever arrived; the One is kept in mind, held in the heart, not just recited. And then the freeing promise: gur charan hirdai... paap gaveh — enshrine the Guru's feet in your heart and past wrongs are forgiven, their weight lifted. This is the gentle center of the poem's second half: closeness is a matter of the heart, not the tongue — and a heart that truly turns is not crushed by its past but released from it.
What's the difference between just saying you'll do better and actually meaning it in your heart?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI