Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
The wise keep pointing to the deepest teaching — but a heart turned the wrong way just can't take it in.
Nanak, though, stays soaked in loving devotion; keeping the One in mind, whatever was grimy inside gets burned clean.
This one says a heart turned the wrong way can't take in even a plain gift. The cure is soaking in love, not scolding.
Bayd bakhi-aan karat saadhoo jan — the wise explain the teachings of the Vedas, the old holy books. Bhaagheen samjhat nahee khal — but the unlucky fool doesn't understand. Bhaagheen means unlucky. It points to people whose hearts happen to be turned away, so they can't receive the teaching even when it's offered plainly.
Read in the tradition's kind spirit, this isn't looking down on anyone. It's feeling sorry for a closed heart. It's like someone standing in the rain with their cup upside down, saying they're thirsty.
The cure, as always, isn't force. It's soaking. Paraym bhagat raachay jan naanak — Nanak is soaked in loving devotion. Har simran dahan bha-ay mal — remembering the One, the mal, the grime inside, burns away. Change comes by soaking in love, not by being scolded.
Why is it sometimes impossible to hear good advice until you're ready? What makes a heart 'ready'?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI