Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
I have tried visiting all the holy places. I have tried fasting, ceremonies, and giving to charity.
They do not measure up to the Name of the One.
The One's Name is beyond weighing, heaviest of all. Through the teacher's guidance, a sincere longing to say the Name has welled up in me.
This part says that no outer practice weighs as much as one heart truly remembering the One.
Guru Ram Das lists the good things of outer religion. Tirath (pilgrimage to holy places), varat (fasting), feasts, and punn (charity). These are all real, good things. Yet har har naam na pujeh pujaahaa — they do not measure up to the Name.
This is not throwing good deeds away. It is about weight. Picture a big balance scale. On one side, pile every outer practice. On the other, place the Name. Atul tol at bhaaree — the Name can't be weighed; it is heavier than all of them.
This is the inward turn. The outer forms are real, but they point inward. What they point to weighs more than all of them together. You can do every practice on the list and still weigh less than one heart that truly remembers the One. What is inside outweighs all the outer forms.
Can you do all the 'right' outer things and still be missing the heaviest, most real thing? What is that thing?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI