Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Some things only look real from a distance. A rider painted on a decorated horse never actually rides anywhere.
A show without substance stays a show, no matter how fine it appears.
This one says a show with nothing real behind it goes nowhere.
It starts a string of four sharp pictures that all make one point. Man asvaar jaisay turee seegaaree — like a rider who exists only in the mind, sitting on a beautifully dressed horse. It looks grand. But it never moves, because there is nothing real behind it. The second picture in this verse makes the same point: a show with nothing real inside.
Think of a racing car printed on a poster. It looks fast, but it will never win a race. The shabad sets a life turned away from the Source, which is mostly show, beside a life turned toward it, which truly moves.
When have you seen something that looked impressive on the outside but turned out to be empty inside?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI