ਕਹਣਾ ਸੁਨਣਾ ਅਕਥ ਘਰਿ ਜਾਇ ॥
kahnaa sunnaa akath ghar jaa-ay.
Speaking and listening, one goes to the Celestial Home of the Indescribable Lord.
ਕਥਨੀ ਬਦਨੀ ਨਾਨਕ ਜਲਿ ਜਾਇ ॥੪॥੫॥
kathnee badnee naanak jal jaa-ay. ||4||5||
Mere words of mouth, O Nanak, are burnt away. ||4||5||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Speaking and listening, a person goes home to the One no words can describe.
Nanak says: mere talk, just words of the mouth, is burned away.
Words with living truth behind them carry you home; words for show burn away.
Speaking and listening from the heart carry you home, and empty talk burns away.
Kahnaa sunnaa akath ghar jaa-ay: speaking and listening lead to the home of the akath, the Indescribable. Note sunnaa, listening, is suniai, the deep receptive attention the tradition prizes. Against this, kathnee badnee Naanak jal jaa-ay, mere words of the mouth burn away, like dry paper in a fire. The living truth inside words carries a person home.
A Question to Sit With
What is the difference between saying something and meaning it?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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