Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
People perform every prescribed rite and ritual, and the whole world gets absorbed in the performance.
But the grime of ego inside is never scrubbed off that way — and without the teaching, the game of life slips away unwon.
You can be very busy with holy rites and still never wash away the ego inside.
Kiri-aachaar karahi khat karmaa — people perform the set rites and the six religious duties. It raatay sansaaree — the whole world is wrapped up in them.
But antar mail na utrai ha-umai, the dirt of ego inside does not come off. Ego, ha-umai, is the feeling of "me first, me apart." Rites touch the outside. Ego lives underneath.
Think of polishing a car until it shines while the engine is still broken. It looks great, but it will not take you anywhere. The verse says that without the Guru, baajee haaree, the game of life is lost. A whole life can be busy with holy things and still miss the point. The verse is not against rites themselves. It warns against thinking the rites alone have changed the heart.
What 'busy-ness' might you be using to avoid a deeper change you already know you need?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI