Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Pushing forward on pride and sheer stubbornness, a person does not find the One.
Studying the holy books and reading them aloud to other people,
and wandering from shrine to shrine, does not take the sickness inside away.
Without the Naam, how could anyone find peace?
Pushing hard with pride, or showing others how holy we are, cannot fix the ache inside.
Hath ahankaar means stubborn ego: trying to get there by force and pride. Some people read scripture lok sunaavai, loudly, so others will hear and be impressed. Some go on tirath bharmas, wandering from one holy place to the next.
These are outside actions. The trouble is inside. Guru Nanak calls it bi-aaDh, a sickness — the ache of feeling far from the One. It is like putting a bandage on your shirt when the cut is on your arm. The shirt looks tidy, but the cut is still there.
The line comes back as a question: naam binaa kaisay sukh paavai — without the Name, how can anyone find peace?
When have you done something good mostly so others would notice?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI