ਭਗਤਿ ਕਰਹਿ ਮੂਰਖ ਆਪੁ ਜਣਾਵਹਿ ॥
bhagat karahi moorakh aap janaaveh.
The fools perform devotional worship by showing off;
ਨਚਿ ਨਚਿ ਟਪਹਿ ਬਹੁਤੁ ਦੁਖੁ ਪਾਵਹਿ ॥
nach nach tapeh bahut dukh paavahi.
they dance and dance and jump all around, but they only suffer in terrible pain.
ਨਚਿਐ ਟਪਿਐ ਭਗਤਿ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥
nachi-ai tapi-ai bhagat na ho-ay.
By dancing and jumping, devotional worship is not performed.
ਸਬਦਿ ਮਰੈ ਭਗਤਿ ਪਾਏ ਜਨੁ ਸੋਇ ॥੩॥
sabad marai bhagat paa-ay jan so-ay. ||3||
But one who dies in the Word of the Shabad, obtains devotional worship. ||3||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
The foolish make a show of their worship, dancing and leaping all around -- and still they ache inside. Jumping about is not worship. But whoever dies into the Word finds real devotion.
Leaping about is not worship -- real devotion comes from dying into the Word.
A pointed critique of performative religion (cf. the hypocrisy elsewhere): outward dancing and jumping is not devotion. Real devotion requires dying in the Shabad. Note Amar Das does not condemn movement itself; he condemns show divorced from the inner death of ego.
A Question to Sit With
Have you seen the difference between showing off being good and quietly being good?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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