Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
There is One Creator of all, known by the True Guru's grace. These are Trilochan's songs.
You have not cleaned the dirt from inside you.
But on the outside, you wear the robes of someone who has given up the world.
In the lotus of your own heart, you have not come to know the One.
So why have you dressed as a sannyaasi, a wandering monk?
Wearing holy clothes does not make the heart clean.
These are verses of Trilochan, a devotee whose words are in the Guru Granth Sahib. He asks a pointed question. Antar mal nirmal nahee keenaa — you have not washed away the dirt inside. Baahar bhaykh udaasee — yet on the outside you wear the dress of someone who has left the world behind.
It is like wearing a team jersey but never learning to play. The jersey is real, but the game is missing. The sting is gentle, and it comes as a question. Kaahay bha-i-aa sani-aasee — why did you become a sannyaasi, a wandering monk? It asks for an honest look inside, not a verdict. Leaving the world means little if you do not also leave behind the ego, the me-first feeling. The point is not about monks. It is about any holy look with nothing inside it.
Where might you be wearing the 'costume' of something good without the inner substance it's meant to signify?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI