Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
You can study every holy book, travel to every sacred place, keep every fast and follow every rule — and still feel that same pull tugging away.
The pull does not loosen just because we go through the outer motions. The change has to happen in the heart.
Outer practices alone cannot loosen the pull of Maya. The change has to happen inside.
The verse lists practices from its own time. There is reciting the Shaastras, the old holy books. There is tirath, visiting holy places. There is worship, sacred marks on the forehead, fasting, vows, and hard self-discipline.
The verse says none of these, on the outside alone, make Maya let go. Gurbani returns to this teaching often. Practice without a change of heart stays on the surface. It applies to the outer forms of every tradition, not one in particular.
Think of washing only the outside of a water bottle. It looks clean. But if the inside is never rinsed, the water still tastes bad.
When has doing the “right steps” on the outside not matched what was happening on the inside?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI