Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
On the eleventh day -- a day people often keep as a fast -- here is the fast that counts: keep the One in your heart, and clear cruelty, pride, and grasping out of it.
Just going through the motions to look devout will not show you the heart of things. The fast that bears fruit is turning inward and getting to know your own self.
The One is spotless and needs nothing, and nothing can stain it. Turn toward that, and some of its purity rubs off on you.
ekadashi, the eleventh day -- traditionally a fasting day. This is one of the poem's clearest relocations of the sacred: barat aatam cheenai -- the true fast is knowing your own self, not abstaining from food. hinsaa mamtaa moh -- cruelty, ego, and grasping are what to clear out. As in the Gauree Thittee and the Baarah Maaha epilogue, the outward rite is gently emptied and the inward turning kept.
What is something you could clear out of your heart to make room for kindness?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI