Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
You can dress up in every holy costume there is and still keep rolling around, never landing. You are like dice tumbling across a board, never at rest.
All that outer show brings no peace, now or later. But when you serve the Guru and your doubts clear away, something wonderful happens. You discover that the home you were searching everywhere for is already deep inside your own heart.
The home you are searching for is already inside you.
Bahutay bhaykh karahi bhaykh-Dhaaree — some people wear many kinds of holy costume. Bhaykh means an outer look or uniform. The critique is aimed at empty show, which can happen in any tradition. It is not aimed at any one faith.
Bhav bhav bharmeh kaachee saaree — they tumble around like kaachee saaree, loose dice rolling on a board that never settle. Think of a phone buzzing with alerts all day, never still. Aithai sukh na aagai ho-ay — they find no peace, here or after. The verse says the manmukh, the one who follows only their own wants, wastes the gift of life.
Then comes the warmest line. Satgur sayvay bharam chukaa-ay — serving the True Guru, doubt is cleared away. Ghar hee andar sach mahal paa-ay — deep in the home of your own heart, you find the palace of the True One. Guru Nanak's Thittee, in this same raag, uses the same picture of a palace inside the home and closes on it. The long search ends at home.
Where do you go looking for something that might already be right where you are?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI