ਆਸਾ ਮਹਲਾ ੧ ॥
aasaa mehlaa 1.
Aasaa, First Mehl:
ਕਿਸ ਕਉ ਕਹਹਿ ਸੁਣਾਵਹਿ ਕਿਸ ਕਉ ਕਿਸੁ ਸਮਝਾਵਹਿ ਸਮਝਿ ਰਹੇ ॥
kis ka-o kaheh sunaaveh kis ka-o kis samjhaavahi samajh rahay.
Unto whom do they speak? Unto whom do they preach? Who understands? Let them understand themselves.
ਕਿਸੈ ਪੜਾਵਹਿ ਪੜਿ ਗੁਣਿ ਬੂਝੇ ਸਤਿਗੁਰ ਸਬਦਿ ਸੰਤੋਖਿ ਰਹੇ ॥੧॥
kisai parhaaveh parh gun boojhay satgur sabad santokh rahay. ||1||
Who do they teach? Through study, they come to realize the Lord's Glorious Virtues. Through the Shabad, the Word of the True Guru, they come to dwell in contentment. ||1||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Whom are they speaking to? Whom are they preaching at? Who is really listening? Let them first understand themselves.
Through real study a person comes to know the One's virtues, and through the Guru's Word comes to rest in contentment.
Before preaching at anyone else, understand yourself first.
Nanak turns the preacher's gaze around: "who understands? Let them understand themselves." Religious talk aimed outward at others is hollow until the speaker has done the inner work. The valid kind of study is the kind that ends in contentment, not in better arguments to aim at people.
A Question to Sit With
Why is it so much easier to correct others than to look honestly at yourself?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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