Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Reading books over and over, people keep making the same mistakes — they are proud of their religious robes.
But what good is bathing at a sacred shrine when the mind is still full of stubborn pride?
Other than the Guru, who can make you understand: the Lord is already within you — the King, the Emperor, sitting right inside your own mind.
Akhhar parh parh bhulee-ai, bhaykee bahut abhimaan — reading letters (books, scriptures) over and over, they continue making mistakes; they are greatly proud of their religious robes (bhaykee — one who wears the outer garb of religion). You can read forever and still be lost. You can wear the robe and still be confused. Reading and robes without the Guru's teaching produce abhimaan (ego, pride, arrogance) rather than wisdom.
Tirath naataa ki-aa karay, man meh mail gumaan — what use is bathing at sacred shrines when the mind is full of the filth of stubborn pride (gumaan)? The sacred bath washes the body; the dirt of pride is not in the body. It is in the mind. External purification addresses the wrong location.
Gur bin kin samjaa-ee-ai, man raajaa sultaan — other than the Guru, who can explain it? And what is the thing that needs explaining? That the man raajaa sultaan — the Lord, the King, the Emperor — is within the mind itself. This is the entire correction of the three errors in this pauri: the pilgrimage goes to the wrong place (the sacred site, not the mind); the robe covers the wrong thing (the body, not the ego); the book-reading searches in the wrong direction (the page, not within). The Guru alone points inward. The King is within.
What outer practice or credential do you carry that feels spiritual — and does it actually change how you are inside?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI