Some wander around the forests, wearing religious robes, but the Fascinating Lord remains distant from them.
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
They may be very beautiful and very clever. They may be wise and learned, and speak very sweetly.
This one says: being clever and talented is not the same as having a good heart.
The list of great qualities keeps growing. at su(n)dhar bahu chatur siaane — very beautiful, very clever, wise. They are learned too, and they speak sweetly. By now you can feel where this is going.
All of these are truly good things. But none of them is the thing that matters most. Guru Arjan is taking apart an easy guess: that the gifted, smart, well-spoken person must be close to the One. Talent is not the same as love for the One. Being smart is not the same as being changed. Speaking beautifully is not the same as a clean heart. Think of a star player who scores every game but never passes the ball.
You can have every gift the world admires and still miss the one inner turn this whole raag is about. The verse leaves its list hanging, unfinished. It waits for the real thing to be named in the next line.
Why might we wrongly assume that the most talented or clever person must also be the wisest inside?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI