Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
It's easy to get so tangled in confusion that the days go by wasted.
And it's a mistake to teach others things you haven't really lived yourself — you end up carrying weight that isn't yours to carry.
The verse warns against a specific trap: bin naavai... aap na cheenai — being so deluded by doubt that life drains away, and then, without having understood anything oneself, calling oneself a teacher and taking on others' loads. It's the danger of pretending to a wisdom you don't have. For a child the gentle version is clear and useful: don't teach or boss others about things you haven't honestly learned and lived; it doesn't help them, and it burdens you. Real authority comes from having actually walked the road, not from claiming to.
Why does advice mean more when it comes from someone who's actually done the thing?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI