Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
You can dress in exactly the right clothes and do all the right outward things, and still, if the inside is full of pride and grabbing for more, none of it quite works. The outside cannot do the job the inside was meant to do.
What matters is what lives in your heart. When greed and doubt fill it, a person wanders restlessly, always searching and never landing. Nanak says the one who forgets the Naam loses the game of life. Turn your heart toward the Naam, and you keep hold of the one thing that matters most — the treasure was inside all along.
What lives in the heart matters more than what you wear.
Baahar bhasam laypan karay antar gubaaree — ash smeared outside, darkness within. A patched coat, a begging bag, many robes (bhaykh) can all be worn while pride stays inside. This can happen in any tradition. Greed and doubt are states a heart can heal from. Joo-ai baajee haaree — a life spent without the Naam is like a game lost in a gamble, and remembering the Naam keeps the game in your hands.
What is something that looks good on the outside but only counts if it's real on the inside?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI