Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Nanak says: someone who cannot see may go to judge the jewels,
but they will not know what the jewels are worth, and they will come home having shown what they do not know.
To know what is valuable, you need eyes inside, in the heart.
Naanak andhaa ho-ay kai ratnaa parkhan jaa-ay means "someone who cannot see goes to judge jewels." They cannot tell the precious from the fake. Aavai aap lakhaa-ay means they come home having shown that they did not know.
This verse is a picture, not a comment about people whose eyes do not work. Being "blind" here means not seeing inside, not seeing what matters. A later verse in this same poem says so very clearly.
Think of someone judging a talent show with headphones on. They cannot hear the singing, so they cannot tell who sang well. Value is known by inner sight, the sight of a heart that is awake.
What is something valuable you could not appreciate until you had grown into seeing it?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI