Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Someone may bow to sacred stones, travel to holy rivers, live alone in the forest,
and wander from place to place as a person who has given everything up.
But if the mind stays cloudy inside, how can any of that make it clear?
It is meeting the True One that brings real honor.
Outside actions cannot clean up the inside.
Pooj silaa tirath ban vaasaa: worshipping stones, visiting holy places, living in the forest. Guru Nanak lists the outer things people do for religion. Someone may even wander from place to place, having given everything up.
Then he asks one simple question: man mailai soochaa ki-o ho-ay. If the mind stays cloudy, how can a person become clean? Washing the outside of a cup does not clean the inside. The question is about the heart, not about any one faith. Real honor comes from meeting the True One.
Can doing the right actions ever matter if your heart is not in them?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI