Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
By tearing others down, the slanderer washes their dirt off them. He ends up eating that filth himself, a servant of the glitter.
Slandering the humble good, he ends up on neither shore — not here, not beyond.
Putting others down only dirties the one who does it.
A nindak is a slanderer, someone who spreads bad talk about others. The verse says something surprising. Nindak nindaa kar mal Dhovai — by slandering, the slanderer washes the dirt off others. It is as if he scrubs their mud off and keeps it himself. He becomes malbhakh, an eater of filth, and a servant of maya, the world's glitter.
Then comes the end of that road. Naa urvaar na paaree — he is on neither this shore nor the far shore. He is stuck in the middle of the river, belonging nowhere. Tearing others down is a trap that catches the one who sets it. It leaves the heart with no home.
If someone is being unkind to you or hurting you, that is never something you have to accept. Telling a grown-up you trust is always the right thing to do.
When you're tempted to tear someone down, might it be an attempt to feel better about yourself? Does it work?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI