Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Self-control with no real steadiness stays hollow. So does hard effort with no truth or contentment behind it.
In the same way, a body that never keeps the Name in mind stays restless inside. It carries a quiet ache it doesn't understand.
This one says a practice without a true heart inside stays hollow.
Guru Nanak gives two pictures. First, ji-o jogee jat baahraa — a jogee, or yogi, who goes through the outer moves without real self-control, jat. Second, tap, hard and strict effort, with no sat santokh, truth and contentment, underneath. Both are like a chocolate egg with nothing inside. It looks right, but it's empty.
This isn't mocking yogis or anyone who practices hard. Guru Nanak says the same to every path, his own included. Any practice without the heart inside stays empty.
Then, naamai bin dayhuree — a body without the Name. The verse says jam, death, takes it away because of the dokh, the fault inside. That inner fault is like a hurt that needs healing, not a crime to be punished. The Name is what fills the hollow.
Have you ever done something 'the right way' on the outside but felt empty about it inside?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI