Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
First we are formed in flesh, and we live inside flesh.
When life comes in, the mouth takes in flesh. Bones, skin and body are all flesh.
We come out of a mother's body of flesh, and our first food at the breast is flesh too.
The mouth is flesh, the tongue is flesh, and the breath lives in flesh.
We grow up and marry, and bring home a wife, who is flesh too.
Flesh comes from flesh. All our relatives are made of flesh.
When we meet the True Guru and understand the flow of the One's will, then we are set right.
Nanak says: trying to free yourself on your own, you are not freed. Empty words only bring ruin.
Every body is made of the same flesh, so no body is above another. A person is changed by meeting the Guru.
Pahilaa maasahu nimmi-aa maasai andar vaas: we begin in flesh and live in flesh. The word maas, flesh, comes back again and again: the body, the first food, the tongue, the breath, the family. Every person shares the same stuff.
Satgur mili-ai hukam bujhee-ai taa ko aavai raas: meeting the True Guru and understanding the hukam, the flow of the One's will, sets a person right. Rules about the body do not do it, and neither does announcing that you are free. This salok begins a pair about the arguments over eating meat.
What changes a person on the inside, if not the outside things everyone can see?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI