Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
You can dress the part and sound very clever about holy things, and still be tangled up inside — pulled this way and that by wanting more, until you lose track of what's real. Without letting a true teacher guide you, that tangle just stays tight, and it aches.
Dressing the part and sounding clever about holy things cannot loosen a knotted heart.
Kaaparh pahir karay chaturaa-ee — they put on religious robes and act clever. Chaturaa-ee is cleverness, a quick and showy smartness.
Maa-i-aa mohi at bharam bhulaa-ee — they are lost in bharam, doubt, and in moh, the pull of attachment to the changing world.
Bin gur sayvay bahut dukh paa-ee — without serving the Guru, they suffer much pain. This dukh, pain, is the honest ache of being tangled up with no guide. It is not a threat of punishment. To serve the Guru means to learn from the teaching and line your life up with it. Think of a knotted necklace chain. Pulling harder only makes it tighter. It takes patient help to loosen it. The answer the verse points to is guidance.
When you feel tangled up inside, who or what helps you find your way back to steady?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI