Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
You could learn a hundred thousand clever tricks, know every shortcut and workaround there is. But not one of those tricks helps with the things that truly matter. The heart's real questions can't be gamed; there is no clever hack that stands in for a good life.
Laakh hikmatee jaanee-ai — you might know "hundreds of thousands of clever schemes" (hikmat, from the Persian for cleverness/stratagem). Aagai til nahee maanee-ai: "hereafter, not even a sesame-seed's worth is accepted." The point is proportion — cleverness is genuinely useful for many things, but it is weightless against the deep account of a life. This echoes the whole Gauree keynote (see Shabad 1): cleverness is light; what is real is weighty.
What is something in your life that no shortcut can do for you?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI