Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
If your heart is muddy inside, then just washing your hands and face doesn't really clean you.
It's an easy thing to get confused about — but the real cleaning happens on the inside.
Guru Amar Das says real cleanliness starts on the inside.
Man mailai sabh kichh mailaa: when the mind is dirty, everything feels dirty. Tan dhotai man hachhaa na ho-ay: washing the body does not make the mind clean.
Think of a phone with a virus. You can wipe the screen until it shines. The problem is still inside. In the Guru's time, many people put great weight on bathing as a way to become pure. The Guru moves purity to the heart. A washed body with an unkind heart is still not clean. A clean heart is the real cleanliness.
The Guru adds that the world is easily confused about this. Virlaa boojhai ko-ay: only a few people really understand it.
What would it mean to keep your heart 'clean' the way you keep your hands clean?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI