Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Thieves, people who break faith with those they love, and people who trade in what should never be sold gather together; they make friends with those who care nothing for what is right, and eat at their table.
They do not know the worth of praising the One, and the pull toward wrong stays with them always.
Rub a donkey with sweet sandalwood paste, and it still loves to roll in the dirt.
Nanak says: spin falsehood, and you weave a cloth of falsehood.
False is the cloth, false its measure, and false the pride of wearing it.
A shalok of the First Mehl. The list at the start names people who break trust, and saitaan (Satan) stands for the pull toward wrong that keeps them company. The donkey and the sandalwood: polish on the outside does not change what you keep going back to. koorhai kati-ai koorhaa taneeai = spin falsehood, weave falsehood; you become what you practice.
What is a small daily habit that quietly shapes the kind of person you are becoming?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI