Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
The religious scholars read and recite endlessly — but they do it for money and recognition. In the love of worldly reward, they've forgotten the Lord's Name.
They never think about the One who gave them their body and soul, who provides food to every living thing.
The Messenger of Death's noose is never cut from their necks. They go on being reborn, over and over.
The blind ones don't understand — they do what was destined for them.
But through perfect destiny, they might meet the True Guru, who brings peace. Then they wear peace, breathe peace, live in peace.
Nanak says: they don't forget the Naam — and they are honored in the Lord's Court.
The scholar-class critique
The Vaar's critique of religious scholars (Pandits, pujaris, specialists) is persistent and precise. The problem is not that they read or teach. The problem is why they read and teach: Māyā kāran ḏhotī bandhī, māyā kāran nit pūjā kare — they perform their religious functions for the sake of Maya (money, status, worldly recognition). The function (reading Vedas, teaching, performing worship) is not wrong. The motivation makes it hollow.
The most pointed line: Jo tan dittā tis simre nāh, ita khāhī nit — "they never think of the One who gave them body and soul." The irony: the very capacity they are using to teach about the Lord (their mind, their voice, their scholarship) was given to them by the Lord — and they never think of the One who gave it.
The possibility of transformation
The Shalok does not end with condemnation. Even the Pandits caught in Maya can be saved — through pūrā bhāg (perfect destiny). Even they might meet the True Guru. And when that happens — sukh pāin, sukh pahin, sukh saun — "they enjoy peace, they wear peace, they sleep in peace." Three registers of peace: interior (enjoying), exterior (wearing/displaying), and unconscious (sleeping). Total peace.
*Have you ever done something for the right reasons but for the wrong motivation? What was the difference, and what helped you shift?*
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI