Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
You cannot win the One over with ceremonies, and no amount of reciting scriptures can add up its worth.
The eighteen Puranas and the four Vedas do not know its secret.
Says Nanak: the True Guru has shown me the One.
This one says no ceremony can win the One over. The Guru shows the One directly.
Aachaaree nahee jeeti-aa jaa-ay means "the One is not won by rituals." Paath parhai nahee keemat paa-ay means "reading scriptures aloud does not add up the One's worth."
Asat dasee chahu means "the eighteen and the four." These are the eighteen Puranas and the four Vedas, the great ancient books of India. Even they, the verse says, do not hold the secret. The point is not that these books are bad. It is that the One is bigger than any book.
Think of reading about the ocean versus standing on the beach. Books can tell you a lot. But seeing the waves is something else. Satgur barahm dikhaa-i-aa means "the True Guru has shown me the One." The Guru gives not more facts, but sight.
What is something you can only be shown, never simply told?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI