ਪੰਡਿਤ ਸੰਗਿ ਵਸਹਿ ਜਨ ਮੂਰਖ ਆਗਮ ਸਾਸ ਸੁਨੇ ॥
pandit sang vaseh jan moorakh aagam saas sunay.
The fool may live with the Pandit, the religious scholar, and listen to the Vedas and the Shaastras.
ਅਪਨਾ ਆਪੁ ਤੂ ਕਬਹੁ ਨ ਛੋਡਸਿ ਸੁਆਨ ਪੂਛਿ ਜਿਉ ਰੇ ॥੪॥
apnaa aap too kabahu na chhodas su-aan poochh ji-o ray. ||4||
You can never escape your own inner tendencies, like the crooked tail of the dog. ||4||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
You can sit right beside a wise teacher and hear the finest teachings read aloud.
And still, if the words only pass your ears, your old ways stay just as they were.
Old ways can stay as stubborn as a dog's curled tail, until you let the words land inside.
Wise words only change you when you let them all the way in.
Going through the motions of study without inner change can happen in every tradition, not one. The Pandit and the sacred texts are respected here; what matters is listening that transforms, beside hearing that leaves the heart untouched.
A Question to Sit With
When has something wise you heard changed the way you act?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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