Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
When the teacher is blind, the students act blindly too.
They walk only by their own will, and keep telling lie after lie.
They live by falsehood and trickery, and always speak badly of others.
By speaking badly of others, they drown themselves, and they drown their whole family too.
Nanak says: whatever the One attaches them to, to that they are attached. What can these poor ones do?
Slander (nindaa), speaking badly of others behind their backs, is a recurring theme in the Vaars. A blind teacher leads blind students, and those who tear others down drown themselves first. There is no gloating here: the last line looks on them with pity, as poor creatures caught by what they are attached to.
If someone is being unkind to you or hurting you, that is never something you have to accept. Telling a grown-up you trust is always the right thing to do.
Have you noticed how putting someone down leaves you feeling worse, not better?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI