Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Then came the Brass Age, and people wandered in doubt. The One created Krishna and the Gopis.
People did hard penance, gave feasts and gifts, and kept many rituals.
With all those rituals, goodness lost two feet and stood on just two.
Many heroes fought great wars. Their pride ruined them, and they ruined others too.
The One, kind to the poor, led them to the Holy Guru. Meeting the True Guru, their dirt was washed away.
Then came the Brass Age, and people wandered in doubt.
This one says being busy with religious things is not the same as being good.
The third age is Dwaapar Yuga, the Brass Age. "Bharam bharmaa-i-aa" — people wandered in doubt. In this age, the shabad says, the One created Krishna and the Gopis, the cowherd girls of the old stories who loved Krishna.
People kept very busy. They did hard penance, putting the body through tough trials. They held feasts, gave charity and kept many rituals. But pride was tangled into all of it. "Pag du-ay khiskaa-i-aa" — two feet slipped away, and goodness stood on only two. Heroes fought great wars, and their pride ruined them and others too.
Picture a kid who does every chore on the list, but only so everyone will say how good they are. The chores get done. The heart is somewhere else.
The quiet point: you can do every ritual and still be pushed around by pride. The Guru is pointing at the empty kind of busyness, not at any faith.
Then comes the turn toward hope. The One, kind to the poor, led them to the Guru. "Mil satgur mal leh jaa-ay" — meeting the True Guru, their dirt washes away. Even a doubting, proud age has a door out.
What's the difference between doing lots of good-looking things and actually being kind?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI