Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Sometimes it feels like a heart has carried the same old habits and hurts for so long. They have soaked all the way in and turned it dark.
A cloth soaked in grease will not come clean, no matter how many times you rinse it in water. Scrubbing the outside just isn't enough.
But by the Guru's grace, the grabbing, boasting self quietly goes still while you are fully alive. Your whole way of thinking turns around, and you stop being pulled about by every passing thing.
Nanak says: then no stain sticks to you anymore, and the same old tiring circle of sorrow comes to an end.
Some stains can only be washed from the inside.
Khanlee is an oily rag, blackened with grease. Jay sa-o Dhovan paahu: even if you wash it a hundred times, it will not come clean. It is one of the sharpest pictures in Gurbani for why outside rituals cannot reach an inside problem. Think of trying to clean a greasy pan with only cold water.
What helps is a change of mat, the way you understand things. Ultee hovai mat: your thinking turns all the way around. Jeevat marai means dying while alive. It means the grabbing, boasting self goes quiet, while you stay fully alive.
The last line says the mind is no longer stained, and does not fall into the womb again. It means the tiring circle of the same old sorrows comes to an end.
Is there a habit or a feeling you have tried to fix from the outside that only shifted when something changed inside you?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI