Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Some people mark their goodness by the special things they do — a fast they keep, a holy place they travel to, beads they count. But there is a deeper way to live all of that.
Let truth be the thing you hold to. Let being content be the faraway place you have already arrived at. Let understanding and quiet attention be what washes you clean. Let kindness be what you honor and forgiveness be the count you keep. Take the good path as the clothes you wear, keep your awareness clear as a swept space, and let your good actions be the mark on your forehead. And let love be your food. Nanak says people who live this way are rare.
Every outward practice has an inner one: truth, contentment, kindness, forgiveness and love.
Sach varat santokh tirath — truth is the fast, and contentment the place of pilgrimage. Wisdom and stillness are the cleansing bath. Da-i-aa dayvtaa khimaa japmaalee — kindness is what you honor, and forgiveness is your string of prayer beads. Good deeds are the tilak, the mark on the forehead, and bhaa-o bhojan — love is the food. Many traditions have fasts, journeys and beads, and each can be lived from the inside like this. Virlaa — such people are rare.
What is one kind thing you could do today that would matter more than any ritual?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI