Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
People pore over the great old holy books, studying every page — and there is real wisdom in them, worth honoring.
Yet reading about the water is not the same as drinking it. What carries you across is saying the Naam, keeping it alive in your heart.
Simrit saasat bayd beechaaray — one may contemplate the Simritees, Shaastras, and Vedas — named respectfully as storehouses of wisdom. Japee-ai naam jit paar utaaray — yet it is holding the Name that carries one across. The books hold wisdom; study alone is still not the crossing, just as reading about water is not drinking it. Across Gurbani, meeting the One is more than reading about the One.
What is the difference between knowing about something and living it? Can you think of an example?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI