har naam Dhi-aavai har naamo gaavai har naamo antchhadaa-ay. ||2||
He meditates on the Lord's Name, and sings the Lord's Name; in the end, the Lord's Name will deliver him. ||2||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
In plain words
Inside the self-centered is deceit, and the tongue speaks lies.
Trickery never pleases the One, who sees and hears everything with ease. Split in two, they set out to instruct the world while soaked in the glitter and pleasure themselves — and so they ache, circling, doubting, going nowhere. But the one the One shows mercy to listens to the teaching, holds the Name, sings the Name — and in the end the Name delivers them.
You can't lead others out of a pit you're still sitting in — but mercy can reach even the hypocrite.
The deeper layer
The Shalok exposes the hypocrite-teacher — "in the love of duality, he goes to instruct the world, but he is engrossed in... Maya." You cannot lead others out of a pit you are sitting in. But even here the door opens: mercy can reach the deceiver, and "in the end, the Lord's Name will deliver him." No one is finally written off, not even the hypocrite.
A Question to Sit With
Where might you be tempted to teach or correct others about something you haven't yet lived yourself?
