Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Without the Word of the teaching, we do not break free — look closely and reflect on this. You could go through a hundred thousand outward rituals, but without the light of the teaching, it is like doing them in the dark.
Doing a thousand rituals in the dark does not help much; it is the light of the teaching that sets you free.
This is the Rahao, the "pause" line at the center of the shabad. Bin gur sabad na chhootee-ai — without the Sabad, the Guru's Word, no one is set free. Then Guru Nanak adds daykhhu veechaaraa — "see and think it over." He asks you to look for yourself, not just take his word for it.
The sharp line is jay lakh karam kamaavahee bin gur andhi-aaraa. Even a hundred thousand karam, ritual acts, leave you in darkness without the Guru.
Think of trying to do your homework with the lights off. You can work very hard and still get it all wrong.
The point is about ritual cut off from the Guru's Word. It is not a jab at any one faith, and it applies to empty routine in any tradition. Ritual done with understanding is fine. Ritual used in place of understanding is like working in the dark.
Have you ever done something the "right way" on the outside while your heart was not really in it?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI