Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Some people shout loudly and fling their bodies around in a show of devotion — but if their hearts are still clinging to **maya**, all that performance is empty. The love of maya is the real thing making *that* mind "dance," jerking it this way and that. And with deceit hidden inside, they only end up suffering.
This verse shows the fake dance. What matters is never how loud devotion looks, but what is moving the heart.
Oochaa kookay taneh pachhaarhay — they shout out loud and throw their bodies around. It's a vivid picture of devotion done for show, the big public display everyone can see. But the Guru asks the sharp question underneath: what is really moving this person? Maa-i-aa moh is maneh nachaa-ay — love of Maya makes this mind dance. They think they're dancing for the One. Really, they're being jerked around like a puppet by their wish for money, rank and applause. The strings are made of moh, clinging.
This is the hidden contrast of the song. In the verse before, the mind danced inside, to the Shabad, keeping the beat of letting go. Here, the body dances outside while the mind is still gripped by Maya. Same word, "dance," opposite reality. You can't tell the two apart by watching bodies. The difference is antar, inside: is the heart letting go, or being driven?
The verse names the flaw: antar kapat — deceit within. The showy dance pretends to a love that isn't there, like a team jersey on someone who never shows up to practice. That gap between outside show and inside truth brings pain: dukh paavni-aa. Living a pretend life is tiring and empty. And the Maya they really serve can never satisfy — it's the poisoned well of an earlier shabad. The warning isn't "don't dance" or "don't show devotion in public." It's: don't let the show replace the real thing. What matters is whether your mind truly dances to the Word, or is being pulled by what it secretly wants.
Have you ever done something "good" mostly as a performance for others to see? How was that different inside from doing it for real?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI