Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
A bride who dresses herself up without her Husband, the Beloved,
loses her good ways and wastes away to nothing.
That is the empty way of living of a person who follows only their own wants.
Forgetting the Naam, they go through all kinds of empty rituals.
Dressing up the outside means little if the One is missing from the inside.
The verse uses an old picture: a bride who dresses up while her husband is away. All her effort goes nowhere. Think of decorating a room for a party when no guest is coming. The room is pretty, but it is empty.
The verse calls this the way of the manmukh, a person led by their own self-will. Such a person goes through many rituals but forgets the Name. The problem is not the rituals. The problem is doing them with the heart somewhere else. What matters is whether the One is welcomed in.
When has doing all the "right" things still felt empty inside?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI