ਜਗਿ ਚਤੁਰੁ ਸਿਆਣਾ ਭਰਮਿ ਭੁਲਾਣਾ ਨਾਉ ਪੰਡਿਤ ਪੜਹਿ ਗਾਵਾਰੀ ॥
jag chatur si-aanaa bharam bhulaanaa naa-o pandit parheh gaavaaree.
The world is clever and wise, but it is deluded by doubt, and forgets the Name; the Pandit, the religious scholar, studies the scriptures, but he is still a fool.
ਨਾਉ ਵਿਸਾਰਹਿ ਬੇਦੁ ਸਮਾਲਹਿ ਬਿਖੁ ਭੂਲੇ ਲੇਖਾਰੀ ॥੫॥
naa-o visaareh bayd samaaleh bikh bhoolay laykhaaree. ||5||
Forgetting the Name, he dwells upon the Vedas; he writes, but he is confused by his poisonous corruption. ||5||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
The world is full of clever people, yet cleverness alone can leave the heart restless and confused.
You can study every holy book and still miss what they all point to — if you read only with the head and forget the Name with the heart.
Read with your heart as well as your head, and the books lead you to the Naam.
The pandit, the learned scholar, studies and yet forgets the Naam. Learning that stays in the head can happen in any tradition. Reading without the heart's remembrance (naa-o visaareh) leaves one in bharam bhulaanaa, wandering in confusion.
A Question to Sit With
Have you ever known all the facts about something but still not understood it?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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