ਵੇਦੁ ਪੜੈ ਅਨਦਿਨੁ ਵਾਦ ਸਮਾਲੇ ॥
vayd parhai an-din vaad samaalay.
He reads the Vedas, but he starts arguments night and day.
ਨਾਮੁ ਨ ਚੇਤੈ ਬਧਾ ਜਮਕਾਲੇ ॥
naam na chaytai baDhaa jamkaalay.
He does not remember the Naam, the Name of the Lord; he is bound and gagged by the Messenger of Death.
ਦੂਜੈ ਭਾਇ ਸਦਾ ਦੁਖੁ ਪਾਏ ਤ੍ਰੈ ਗੁਣ ਭਰਮਿ ਭੁਲਾਇਦਾ ॥੪॥
doojai bhaa-ay sadaa dukh paa-ay tarai gun bharam bhulaa-idaa. ||4||
In the love of duality, he suffers in pain forever; he is deluded by doubt, and confused by the three gunas. ||4||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
A person can read all the holy books and still spend day and night just arguing about them. If the Name is forgotten in all that noise, the reading does not reach the heart.
Caught up in this-and-that, they stay restless and pulled in three directions. But the moment the heart turns to remember, the noise settles.
Reading without remembering is just noise; the heart is where it lands.
Reading every day while arguing day and night (an-din vaad samaalay) leaves the heart untouched. Study is honored; remembering the Naam is what lets the reading land.
A Question to Sit With
When has knowing a lot about something kept you from feeling it?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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