Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
You rub ashes on your body to look holy, but underneath you're just pretending.
Holding tight to Maya, the world's shiny stuff, you will be struck by death's heavy club.
Your begging bowl is cracked; it cannot hold the gift of love. Tied up like that, you keep coming and going, round and round.
Looking holy on the outside does not help if the inside is only pretending.
Bhasam charhaa-ay karahi pakhand means "you rub ashes on your body, while acting falsely." Some yogis smeared ash on themselves as a sign that they had given up the world. Pakhand means putting on a show.
Still holding tight to Maya, the world's shiny stuff, the pretender stays stuck. The verse speaks of jam dand, the club of Death. It is a picture of being caught by the very things you cling to.
Footai khaapar means "a broken begging bowl." A cracked cup cannot hold water. A heart cracked by pretending cannot hold love. Bound up like this, a person aavai jaa-ay, comes and goes, going round and round in circles.
Why is it so much harder to hold onto good things when part of you is just putting on a show?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI