Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Only the life lived from the inside out is real — where what I do actually flows from the deeper truth in me. Someone who stays all on the surface can’t even guess at the secret of being free.
Only a life that grows from the inside is real.
Think of an apple that is shiny on the outside but still hard and green inside. It looks ready, but it is not. Guru Nanak calls a person who lives only on the surface kaachaa, which means unripe. Such a person cannot know the secret of mukat, being truly free.
Adhi-aatam karam karay taa saachaa — only the one who acts from the inner life is real. Adhi-aatam karam means actions that flow from your deepest, spiritual self. Saachaa means true and real.
Here Guru Nanak gives the word yogi a new meaning. A yogi is a seeker who has set out to find the One. Guru Nanak says a real yogi is known by inner truth, not by robes or rituals.
What is something you do that comes from the surface, and something that comes from deep inside you?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI