He saves himself, and saves all his generations as well; he emancipates the whole world. ||1||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
In plain words
Blind inside and blind outside, he sings falsely, falsely.
He washes his body and draws holy marks on it, yet runs hard after money.
The dirt of ego inside him does not wash away, and he keeps coming and going, again and again.
Heavy with sleep and burning with wanting, he says "Har, Har" with his mouth.
He is called a Vaishnav, a holy devotee, but his deeds are tied up in ego — what grain can you get by beating empty husks?
Sitting among the swans, the crane does not become a swan; it sits there staring at the fish.
When the swans look closely, they see they can never be partners with the crane.
The swans peck at diamonds and pearls; the crane goes hunting for frogs.
The poor crane flies off, afraid its secret will show.
Whatever the One joins a person to, to that they are joined — who can be blamed, when the One wills it so?
The True Guru is a lake overflowing with jewels; whoever is meant to receive them, receives them.
The Sikh-swans gather at the lake by the True Guru's will.
The lake is full of jewels and pearls; they eat and they share, and it never runs out.
The swan never leaves the lake; this is what pleases the Creator.
Nanak says: the Sikh who has this blessing written on their forehead comes to the Guru.
That Sikh is carried across, carries the whole family across, and sets the whole world free.
You can dress the part, but in the end what you chase shows.
The deeper layer
The swan-and-crane (hans/bagulaa) shalok: outward ritual without inner change is a crane among swans, still hunting frogs while they eat pearls. The critique is aimed at going through the motions — a hollow show found in every tradition — never at a faith or at people. The blame is softened too (who is to blame, when the Lord wills it so?), and the weight lands on the lake that never empties, where the Sikh-swans gather around the True Guru.
A Question to Sit With
What is the difference between looking good and being good?
