Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Those who hand out caps of honor are foolish; those who take them have no shame.
A mouse cannot fit into its hole with a big basket tied to its waist.
Those who give out blessings will die, and those they bless will go too.
Nanak says: no one knows the One's order, or where they all go to merge.
The spring harvest is the Naam of the One; the autumn harvest is the True Name.
When I reach my Master's door, I receive a letter of pardon.
The world has so many courts, and so many people come and go at them.
So many beggars beg, and so many beg and beg until they die.
Titles and honors pass away with the people who give and take them; the harvest that lasts in every season is the Naam.
A salok of Guru Nanak. Kulhaan, caps of honor, stand for empty recognition, and the mouse with a basket tied on cannot get into its hole: self-importance gets in the way. Ahaarhee and saavanee, the spring and autumn harvests, are both the Naam, the one crop that lasts across every season.
What badge have you wanted that would not matter in a few years?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI