For your patched coat and begging bowl, see the Lord God pervading and permeating everywhere; O Nanak, the One Lord will carry you across.
ਸਾਚਾ ਸਾਹਿਬੁ ਸਾਚੀ ਨਾਈ ਪਰਖੈ ਗੁਰ ਕੀ ਬਾਤ ਖਰੀ ॥੧੦॥
saachaa saahib saachee naa-ee parkhai gur kee baatkharee. ||10||
True is our Lord and Master, and True is His Name. Analyze it, and you shall find the Word of the Guru to be True. ||10||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
In plain words
Let your earrings be the Word, held deep within you all the time; send ego and clinging far away.
Let go of selfish desire, anger, and pride, and through the Guru's Word, understanding comes.
For your patched coat and begging bowl, see the One filling everything, everywhere. Nanak says: the One alone will carry you across.
True is the Master, and true is the Naam. Test the Guru's Word, and you will find it true.
The gear that counts is worn on the inside: the Word held steady, the ego set down.
The deeper layer
Each yogi's emblem can be worn inside. The mudraa (earring) becomes the Word held steady within; the coat and bowl become seeing the One everywhere. Haumai mamtaa (ego and clinging) are what to let go. Parkhai gur kee baat kharee, test it and find it true, is an invitation to verify, not a demand to believe.
A Question to Sit With
What would it mean to wear calmness the way others wear an outfit?
