ਜਟਾ ਭਸਮ ਲੇਪਨ ਕੀਆ ਕਹਾ ਗੁਫਾ ਮਹਿ ਬਾਸੁ ॥
jataa bhasam laypan kee-aa kahaa gufaa meh baas.
What is the use of wearing matted hair, smearing the body with ashes, and living in a cave?
ਮਨੁ ਜੀਤੇ ਜਗੁ ਜੀਤਿਆ ਜਾਂ ਤੇ ਬਿਖਿਆ ਤੇ ਹੋਇ ਉਦਾਸੁ ॥੨॥
man jeetay jag jeeti-aa jaaN tay bikhi-aa tay ho-ay udaas. ||2||
Conquering the mind, one conquers the world, and then remains detached from corruption. ||2||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
What good is matted hair, ash smeared on the skin, or a home in a cave?
Win over your own mind, and you have won the world; then the pull of wrong things no longer holds you.
Win the battle inside, and you have won the only battle that matters.
'Jataa bhasam laypan' (matted hair, ashes) and 'gufaa meh baas' (living in a cave) name the outward marks of the renunciate. The whole quest turns inward: 'man jeetay jag jeeti-aa' — conquer the mind and you have conquered the world. The critique is of external religiosity wherever it appears, not of any one path.
A Question to Sit With
What is one small way you could practice steadying your own mind this week?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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