Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
O mother, if only someone could gently guide this wandering mind of mine.
It has heard the great scriptures and the ways of wise and holy people — so much good teaching — and still it won't pause, even for a heartbeat, to sing what it knows is true.
This one says hearing good teaching and living it are two different things.
This is the rahao, the "pause" line, the center of the shabad. It speaks to a mother. Ko-oo maa-ee bhooli-o man samjhaavai — O mother, if only someone would guide my wandering mind. It is a close, almost childlike voice, longing for help.
Bayd puraan saaDh mag sun kar — the mind has heard the Vedas and Puraanas, the old scriptures of India, and the ways of holy people. They stand for all the good teaching a person can hear. Nimakh na har gun gaavai — and still it does not sing the praises of the One, not even for a moment.
That is the ache. Hearing is not the same as being changed. Think of knowing every rule of a sport from videos, and never stepping onto the field. The point is not that the Vedas and Puraanas are wrong. Even the best teaching stays outside us until something in us turns. The gentle critique is of our own distraction, not of any tradition.
What's something you know is good and true but still find hard to actually do?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI