ਅਠ ਦਸ ਬੇਦ ਸੁਨੇ ਕਹ ਡੋਰਾ ॥
ath das bayd sunay kah doraa.
How can a deaf person listen to the eighteen Puraanas and the Vedas?
ਕੋਟਿ ਪ੍ਰਗਾਸ ਨ ਦਿਸੈ ਅੰਧੇਰਾ ॥
kot pargaas na disai anDhayraa.
The blind man cannot see even a million lights.
ਪਸੂ ਪਰੀਤਿ ਘਾਸ ਸੰਗਿ ਰਚੈ ॥
pasoo pareet ghaas sang rachai.
The beast loves grass, and remains attached to it.
ਜਿਸੁ ਨਹੀ ਬੁਝਾਵੈ ਸੋ ਕਿਤੁ ਬਿਧਿ ਬੁਝੈ ॥੨॥
jis nahee bujhaavai so kit biDh bujhai. ||2||
One who has not been taught - how can he understand? ||2||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
With ears closed, how can anyone take in the eighteen Puraanas and the Vedas, the old holy books?
With eyes shut, even a million lights cannot be seen.
An animal loves its grass and stays stuck to it.
Someone who has not been shown — how could they understand?
Wisdom needs an awake heart to land in.
Wisdom needs an awake heart to land in. Until someone shows you (bujhaavai), you cannot reach for what you have not yet sensed.
The closed ears and shut eyes are the heart's ears and eyes. The picture is about a sleeping heart, never about anyone's body.
A Question to Sit With
What woke you up to something you'd been walking right past?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
Use ← → to navigate