Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Someone can discipline the body with hard practice while the mind keeps darting in ten directions.
Someone can hold a strict vow yet quietly fill with pride.
Someone can travel to every holy place and still carry anger inside.
Hard practices on the outside do not fix what is going on inside.
The verse gives three pictures. Someone becomes a tapsee, a person of hard practice who disciplines the body. Yet the mind still runs off in ten directions. Someone keeps a strict vow of barahmchaar, living without a partner. Yet pride fills the heart. Someone becomes a sani-aasee, a wanderer who gives up home, and travels to holy places. Yet anger still lives inside.
The verse is not against any of these paths. It gives the same honest check-up to all of them. What matters is what is happening inside.
Think of cleaning your room by shoving everything under the bed. From the door, it looks tidy. But the mess is still there. A wandering mind, hidden pride and old anger are like that mess. They need to be sorted, not hidden.
Where might your actions and your heart be out of step?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI