Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
You can read every holy book and study the oldest teachings. You can master every breathing exercise and cleansing practice.
And still the same old habits tug at you. The small, separate self only grips tighter.
You can know every holy book and every practice, and still be ruled by the same old habits inside.
Paath parhi-o ar bayd beechaari-o means reading holy texts and thinking hard about the Vedas, the oldest books of India. Nival bhu-angam saaDhay means mastering yoga's cleansing and breathing practices. These are real skills, and they take years.
But panch janaa si-o sang na chhutki-o: the company of the five does not leave. The five are desire, anger, greed, clinging and pride. And aDhik ahaN-buDh baaDhay: the ego ties itself even tighter. Think of someone who learns every rule of football by heart, but still hogs the ball. Knowing is not the same as changing.
This is not aimed at any one path. It fits every tradition. Practice without a changed heart does not set the heart free.
Have you ever done all the “right” steps but your heart wasn’t in it?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI