Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Some, like the Jain monks of that time, go off into the wilderness and lose their way, as if it had been written for them from the start.
The Naam is not on their lips, and they do not bathe at holy places.
They pull out their hair with their hands instead of shaving it.
They stay unwashed day and night, and the Word does not please them.
They have no standing, no honor, no good deeds; they waste their life.
Their minds are not clean, and what they eat is not clean either.
Without the Word, no one finds a good way of living.
The one who follows the Guru melts into the True One, the Creator of all.
Hard outward practices do not change the heart by themselves. Taking the teaching inside does.
This pauri carries on from the one before. It names jainee, Jain monks of Guru Nanak's time, and practices he saw, like living in the wilderness and hathee sir khohaa-ay, pulling out their hair by hand instead of shaving it.
Guru Nanak is not attacking Jains or any faith. The Vaar makes this same point about every tradition, including Sikhs who only go through the motions. The question is always the same: has the heart changed? The verse uses harsh words, like "impure," for a life of outward effort without the Word.
Bin sabdai aachaar na kin hee paa-i-aa: without the sabad, the Word, no one finds true aachaar, good living. It is like memorizing every rule of soccer without ever playing with the team.
Gurmukh o-ankaar sach samaa-i-aa: the one turned toward the Guru melts into the True One, the Creator of all.
Can you think of a time you did all the right steps but your heart was not in it?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI