Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
When someone is full of what is false, the truth just doesn't appeal to them — it feels uncomfortable.
But when truth is spoken plainly, falsehood can't survive next to it; it simply burns off.
The habit of fooling ourselves feeds on more of the same, the way a crow feeds on scraps — and it never fills you.
When grace touches a heart, it turns to the Name.
Turn toward the Guru and hold the Naam, and both self-deception and wrongdoing quietly fall away.
When truth is spoken, falsehood burns away on its own.
Guru Ram Das sets two words side by side. Koorh means falsehood, what is not real. Sach means truth, what is real. Jinaa andar koorh vartai sach na bhaav-ee: people full of falsehood do not like the truth.
Jay ko bolai sach koorhaa jal jaav-ee: if someone speaks the truth, the false one burns up. Lies and ill-will defeat themselves in the light of what is real. Think of switching on a bright light in a room full of shadows. You don't have to fight the shadows. They are just gone.
The verse compares living on falsehood to a crow eating scraps. Falsehood never fills you. And the way out is grace, not grim effort. Jis har ho-ay kirpaal so naam Dhi-aava-ee: a heart touched by kindness turns to the Name, and falsehood falls away by itself.
Why do you think the truth, once it is out in the open, is so hard for a lie to stand next to?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI