Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
What if I donated castles of gold, and gave horses and wondrous elephants in charity?
What if I donated land and herds of cows? — Even then, pride and ego would still be within me.
The Name of the Lord has pierced my mind. The Guru gave me this true and lasting gift.
Guru Nanak says that even giving away huge riches cannot remove pride. Only the Guru's gift of the Name can.
After the hard body trials, he turns to giving. Kanchan kay kot dat karee means if I gave away castles of gold. Baho haivar gaivar daan means if I gave many fine horses and elephants. Bhoom daan ga-oo-aa ghanee means if I gave land and many cows. These were the biggest gifts of kings and holy people in India long ago.
And yet: bhee antar garab gumaan means even then, pride and ego would stay inside. This is surprising. Even the most generous giving does not remove the ego by itself. It can even make it bigger, the pride of the great giver. The ego of the one doing the giving is still there, and it can puff up.
Think of someone who gives a big present mostly so everyone will clap for them. The gift is real, but so is the showing off.
Raam naam man baydhi-aa means the Lord's Name has pierced my mind. Gur dee-aa sach daan means the Guru gave me this true gift. No gift we give, however big, compares to this one gift received. The Name, given through the Guru's grace, is the one gift that heals pride instead of feeding it. You cannot buy it with gold.
Have you ever given something freely and still felt proud of having given it — and what does that say about the nature of real generosity?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI