Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Wandering around and making mistakes, I climb the plateau. Having climbed the plateau, I go up the mountain.
But now I have lost my way, and I am wandering around in the forest. Without the Guru, I do not understand.
If I wander around forgetting God's Name, I shall continue coming and going in reincarnation.
This one says hard work alone isn't enough; we also need the Guru to show the way.
Bhoolee bhoolee thal charhaa thal charh doogar jaa-o: making mistakes as I go, I climb a high plain, then up a mountain. Then: ban meh bhoolee, I'm lost in the forest. The climbing is real effort. But with no direction, it just means being lost higher up.
The Guru is like the map app on a phone. Without it, all your climbing only gets you more lost. Bin gur boojh na paa-o: without the Guru, I don't understand. Boojh means real understanding. It's more than facts or instructions. It is the ability to understand at all. The Guru doesn't only teach. The Guru opens up our power to understand.
Naavhu bhoolee jay firaa fir fir aava-o jaa-o: if I wander, forgetting the Name, I keep coming and going. That means being born again and again.
Have you ever worked very hard at something and found yourself more lost rather than less? What was needed that effort alone couldn't provide?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI