ਲੋਕਾ ਮਤ ਕੋ ਫਕੜਿ ਪਾਇ ॥
lokaa mat ko fakarh paa-ay.
O people, do not make fun of me.
ਲਖ ਮੜਿਆ ਕਰਿ ਏਕਠੇ ਏਕ ਰਤੀ ਲੇ ਭਾਹਿ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
lakh marhi-aa kar aykthay ayk ratee lay bhaahi. ||1|| rahaa-o.
Thousands of wooden logs, piled up together, need only a tiny flame to burn. ||1||Pause||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Don't laugh at me, people:
a tiny flame is enough to set a whole mountain of logs ablaze.
It only takes a tiny real flame to burn a whole mountain of logs.
The Pause answers the scoffers — those who mock this simple inner lamp over their elaborate rituals. Nanak's reply is the image of the small flame: "thousands of wooden logs need only a tiny flame to burn." The smallest genuine spark of the Name can consume the whole heaped-up mass of one's karma. Size is not the point; reality is.
A Question to Sit With
When have you seen something small make a difference far bigger than its size?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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