Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Some things are meant to stay pure, and shouldn't be turned into a way to get ahead.
When you treat what's sacred as a bargain, you cheat mostly yourself.
This verse is a pointed critique of a priest of the day who accepts payment under false pretenses — specifically taking a fee for performing a wedding while inwardly corrupt, 'cursing his own life.' The social details are adult and rooted in a particular custom (see the Commentary). But the heart of it translates cleanly for a child: there are things — trust, love, what's sacred — that lose their meaning the moment you turn them into a way to profit or get ahead. When you cash in on something that was supposed to be pure, the person most cheated is you. Keep the sacred things sacred.
What is something in your life that would be spoiled if you treated it as a way to get ahead?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI