ਕਹਨ ਕਹਾਵਨ ਸਗਲ ਜੰਜਾਰ ॥
kahan kahaavan sagal janjaar.
Speaking and talking are all just entanglements.
ਨਾਨਕ ਦਾਸ ਸਚੁ ਕਰਣੀ ਸਾਰ ॥੪॥੫॥
naanak daas sach karnee saar. ||4||5||
O slave Nanak, the true way of life is excellent. ||4||5||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
All the talking, and getting others to talk, is just a tangle.
Nanak, the servant, says: living the truth is the best of all.
Talk tangles; living truthfully is the one thing that shines.
Talking gets you tangled, and living truthfully is what counts.
Kahan kahaavan sagal janjaar: talking, and getting others to talk about us, is all a tangle. Picture a ball of earbud wires in your pocket. The more you fiddle, the worse it gets. Sach karnee saar: true living, sach karnee, is the best thing. Doing is what counts.
The shabad closes by turning from words to deeds. Nanak calls himself daas, a servant, in humble honesty.
A Question to Sit With
What is something you would rather show by doing than by talking about?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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