Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
If my mind never grows to love the Name, then even piles of good deeds and rituals leave me stuck in my own unhappiness.
Even piles of good deeds feel empty if there is no love for the Name inside.
Naam sang man pareet na laavai — someone whose mind does not grow to love the Name. Kot karam karto narak jaavai — even doing kot karam, millions of rituals, goes to narak. Narak means hell. Here it points to an inner state: being stuck in your own unhappiness. It is not a place of torture.
The teaching is real. Ritual without love is hollow. Think of saying "sorry" with a scowl. The words are right, but the heart is missing. This is about outward practice cut off from the Name. Its inner test can be used wisely beyond its own time and place.
Can you do all the 'right' things and still feel hollow? Why might that be?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI