Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
What if I put my body through the worst trials?
What if I made it suffer the cold of the high snows? Even then, my mind would still be sick.
None of these is equal to the Name. I have seen and tried and tested them all.
Guru Nanak says that even the harshest trials of the body cannot heal a sick mind. Only the Name can.
He names a second list of hard body trials, even harsher than the first. Tan haimanchal gaalee-ai means wearing the body down in the snowy mountains. These were not made up. Some seekers really did such things, hoping that beating the body into shape would free the spirit.
Bhee man tay rog na jaa-ay means even then, the sickness of the mind does not go. The body can be made to give in completely, and the mind stays sick. That is because the mind's sickness, like pride and selfish wanting, does not live in the body. Hurting the body does not heal the mind.
Think of a phone with a bug in its app. Smashing the case does nothing. The problem is inside.
Har naamai tul na puj-ee means none of these match the Name. Sabh dithee thok vajaa-ay means I have seen and tested them all, the way you tap a clay pot to hear if it is cracked. This comes from someone who really looked, not someone who brushed it off. The Guru is not asking anyone to hurt their body. He says the Name is not the easy way. It is the way that actually works.
What is the difference between spiritual effort that works and spiritual effort that is impressive but doesn't actually change anything?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI