Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
You can travel to the most famous holy places in the world and keep every fast. But if your heart never turns toward the One, the trip stays on the outside.
All the impressive practices and big ceremonies are like empty baskets if you forget to praise the One they are meant to point you toward.
Holy trips and ceremonies stay on the outside until the heart turns to the One.
Kahaa bha-i-o tirath barat kee-ay — what good are holy places and fasts? Tirath means a place of pilgrimage. Barat means a fast. Raam saran nahee aavai — if a person does not come into the One's shelter.
Jog jag nihfal — yoga practices and big offering feasts bear no fruit. Jo parabh jas bisraavai — if a person forgets to praise God.
This is not aimed at any one faith. It is aimed at doing the outside part while the inside stays empty. That can happen in every tradition. Think of a beautiful gift box with nothing inside. The true shelter is inward, in the heart.
Have you ever done all the right steps for something but forgotten why you were doing it?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI