Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Instead of bathing at the sixty-eight holy places, take your cleansing bath in the Naam.
When the dust of the Sangat's feet rises up into my eyes, all my bad thinking is washed away.
Bathe in the Naam, and let the Sangat wash your heart clean.
This line is the rahaa-o, the "pause" line, the center of the shabad. Tirath athsath majan naa-ee: take your bath in the Naam, in place of the sixty-eight holy places of pilgrimage. A pilgrimage is a trip to a holy place, and the verse honors the longing behind it. It simply points that longing inward.
Then comes the satsangat, the Sangat — people gathered together to remember the One. When the dust of their feet gets in our eyes, the verse says, all our bad thinking clears away. Think of wiping a foggy window with a clean cloth. Being close to the Sangat clears the fog inside us.
Where do you go, inside or out, when you need to feel clean and clear again?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI