Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Those whose hearts do not hold the Naam of the One find everything they do flat and tasteless.
They may dress up and decorate their bodies, but without the Naam they look as shamed as a face with its nose cut away.
Dressing up the outside cannot fill an empty heart.
This verse is set against the one before it on purpose. There, love glowed from inside. Here, the verse looks at someone with seegaar, fine clothes and decoration, but no Naam inside. It says tin sabh kaaraj feek: all their doing is flat and tasteless.
Think of a cake with beautiful icing and nothing inside. It looks great, but there is no taste to it. The verse uses a harsh old picture from its time: a face with the nose cut off, which was a mark of shame. The point behind it is simple. Without the Naam, even a well-decorated life looks hollow, as if something important is missing.
When have you noticed that looking good on the outside didn't fix how you felt inside?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI