ਬਿਨੁ ਬਿਦਿਆ ਕਹਾ ਕੋਈ ਪੰਡਿਤ ॥
bin bidi-aa kahaa ko-ee pandit.
Without learning, how can one be a Pandit - a religious scholar?
ਬਿਨੁ ਅਮਰੈ ਕੈਸੇ ਰਾਜ ਮੰਡਿਤ ॥
bin amrai kaisay raaj mandit.
Without power, what is the glory of an empire?
ਬਿਨੁ ਬੂਝੇ ਕਹਾ ਮਨੁ ਠਹਰਾਨਾ ॥
bin boojhay kahaa man thehraanaa.
Without understanding, how can the mind become steady?
ਨਾਮ ਬਿਨਾ ਸਭੁ ਜਗੁ ਬਉਰਾਨਾ ॥੩॥
naam binaa sabh jag ba-uraanaa. ||3||
Without the Naam, the whole world is insane. ||3||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Without learning, how can anyone be a pandit, a scholar?
Without power, what glory does a kingdom have?
Without understanding, how can the mind grow steady?
Without the Naam, the whole world runs wild, out of its senses.
A busy mind settles when it remembers what holds it.
Understanding steadies the mind, and without the Naam the whole world runs wild.
The pandit here is a learned scholar, and the line honors learning: a scholar needs study, a kingdom needs power, a steady mind needs understanding. Bin boojhay kahaa man thehraanaa: without understanding, how can the mind settle? Naam binaa sabh jag ba-uraanaa: without the Naam, the whole world goes wild.
A Question to Sit With
What helps your mind settle when it is racing?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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