Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Look: without the Naam, people are like someone whose nose has been cut off, a mark of shame, losing face bit by bit.
Those who turn away from the One are called proud and full of themselves. Without the Naam, such a life is called cursed.
A life without the Naam loses its honor, like a face that carries a mark of shame.
The verse uses a harsh old picture of public disgrace. In old India, a cut nose was a mark of deep shame, a cruel punishment of that time. We do not carry that cruelty forward. The picture points to what is missing inside: naam binaa, without the Naam.
Saakat nar is the one who has turned away from the One. Such a person is called ahankaaree, proud, puffed up with self. Bin naavai Dharig jeeveejai: without the Naam, life is called cursed. Think of a balloon. It looks big, but inside it is only air. The Naam is what fills a life.
What is something that keeps you feeling whole and yourself?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI