ਗੰਗ ਬਨਾਰਸਿ ਸਿਫਤਿ ਤੁਮਾਰੀ ਨਾਵੈ ਆਤਮ ਰਾਉ ॥
gang banaaras sifat tumaaree naavai aatam raa-o.
The Lord's Praise is my River Ganges and my city of Benares; my soul takes its sacred cleansing bath there.
ਸਚਾ ਨਾਵਣੁ ਤਾਂ ਥੀਐ ਜਾਂ ਅਹਿਨਿਸਿ ਲਾਗੈ ਭਾਉ ॥੩॥
sachaa naavan taaN thee-ai jaaN ahinis laagai bhaa-o. ||3||
That becomes my true cleansing bath, if night and day, I enshrine love for You. ||3||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Praising the One is my holy river and my sacred city; my soul takes its cleansing bath right there.
That is the only true bath — if, night and day, I keep love for You alive.
The truest cleansing bath is praise kept alive in the heart, day and night.
Pilgrimage too is internalized: "the Lord's Praise is my River Ganges and my city of Benares." The soul bathes not in a physical river but in praise — and even that bath is real only "if night and day I enshrine love for You." The outer pilgrimage is replaced by the inner one, and the inner one is validated by continuous love, not a single dip (cf. Japji's inner pilgrimage).
A Question to Sit With
What truly leaves you feeling clean and renewed on the inside?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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