Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
The Pandits — the religious scholars — read and argue and stir up controversies. But without the Guru, they are deluded by doubt.
They wander around the cycle of 8.4 million reincarnations. Without the Shabad, they do not attain liberation.
But when they remember the Name — then they attain the state of salvation, when the True Guru unites them in Union.
This line says: reading holy books and arguing about them is not enough. Remembering the Name, with the Guru's help, is what sets us free.
Pandit parh parh vaad vakaaneh: the pandits, learned teachers, read and read, and then argue. Bin gur bharam bhulaa-ay: without the Guru, they stay lost in bharam, doubt.
The books are not wrong. The pandits know them better than anyone. But reading without the Guru gives you facts, not a changed heart. It is like reading every book about swimming and never getting in the pool.
Lakh cha-oraaseeh fayr pa-i-aa: they go round and round the 8.4 million joon, the forms of life. In old Hindu teaching, that is how many kinds of creatures a soul may be born as. Bin sabdai mukat na paa-ay: without the Shabad, the Guru's Word, they do not find mukat, freedom. Reading about the cage is not the same as finding the door.
Jaa naa-o chaytai taa gat paa-ay: but when they remember the Name, they reach the highest state. Jaa satgur mayl milaa-ay: when the True Guru joins them to the Lord.
The door is open to the scholar too. It is the same door Namdev the cloth-printer and Prahlad walked through. Not by arguing, but by remembering.
Is there knowledge you have that you know you haven't actually lived — information you understand intellectually but haven't integrated into how you actually are?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI