Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Trips to holy rivers, the six daily rituals, long tangled hair, offerings into a sacred fire, carrying a holy walking stick: none of these are any use.
Outward practices, all by themselves, cannot clean the heart.
The verse names several: tatan (bathing at holy rivers), khatan (the six daily duties some priests kept), jatan (keeping long, matted hair), homan (offerings into a sacred fire), and dandDhaar (carrying a holy staff). Many sincere people did these things in the Guru's time.
No practice is wrong here. The outside form alone stays on the surface. It is like wearing a team jersey. The jersey is fine, but it does not make you a good player. Practice and heart do that.
This is true in any tradition. What matters is a heart that is awake to the One.
Why can doing the right steps still feel empty if your heart isn't in it?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI