jogee jangam sani-aasee bhulay onHaa ahaNkaar baho garab vaDhaa-i-aa.
The Yogis, the wandering hermits and the Sannyaasees have gone astray; their egotism and arrogance have increased greatly.
ਛਾਦਨੁ ਭੋਜਨੁ ਨ ਲੈਹੀ ਸਤ ਭਿਖਿਆ ਮਨਹਠਿ ਜਨਮੁ ਗਵਾਇਆ ॥
chhaadan bhojan na laihee satbhikhi-aa manhath janam gavaa-i-aa.
They do not accept the true donations of clothes and food, and their lives are ruined by their stubborn minds.
ਏਤੜਿਆ ਵਿਚਹੁ ਸੋ ਜਨੁ ਸਮਧਾ ਜਿਨਿ ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਨਾਮੁ ਧਿਆਇਆ ॥
ayt-rhi-aa vichahu so jan samDhaa jin gurmukh naam Dhi-aa-i-aa.
Among these, he alone is a man of poise, who, as Gurmukh, meditates on the Naam, the Name of the Lord.
ਜਨ ਨਾਨਕ ਕਿਸ ਨੋ ਆਖਿ ਸੁਣਾਈਐ ਜਾ ਕਰਦੇ ਸਭਿ ਕਰਾਇਆ ॥੨॥
jan naanak kis no aakh sunaa-ee-ai jaa karday sabh karaa-i-aa. ||2||
Unto whom should servant Nanak speak and complain? All act as the Lord causes them to act. ||2||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
In plain words
Watching the glitter in its three moods, a person strays — like a moth that sees the flame and is consumed.
Muddled scholars stare at the glitter, watching to see if anyone offers them anything; split-hearted, they read about wrong while the Name is withheld. Yogis and hermits stray too, their pride swelling; they refuse honest food and clothing and ruin their lives by stubbornness. Only the one who faces the teaching keeps their poise. To whom shall Nanak complain? All act as the One moves them.
The critique of everyone who strays ends not in blame but in humility — all act within a larger working we don't fully see.
The deeper layer
This long Shalok surveys the ways people go astray — greedy scholars, proud yogis — all drawn to the flame like moths. It is evenhanded, sparing no group; the fault is never the robe or the title but the inner pull to the glitter. And it ends in remarkable non-judgment: "unto whom should Nanak complain? All act as the Lord causes them to act." The critique dissolves into humility before the One's larger workings.
A Question to Sit With
Can you notice where people go astray without contempt, remembering you don't see the whole picture?
