Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
You may observe thirty fasts and say five prayers each day — but 'Satan' can undo them.
Says Nanak: you will have to walk on the path of death. So why bother collecting wealth and property?
This one says that even careful religious practice needs a true heart inside it.
Teeh kar rakhay panj kar saathee: you may keep the thirty fasts and say the five daily prayers. These are the fasts of Ramadan and the five daily prayers of Islam. Naa-o saitaan mat kat jaa-ee: but Saitaan, Satan, can undo them. Guru Nanak is speaking to his Muslim friends in their own words, in a way they would know well.
The point is not against Islam. Guru Nanak said the same thing about Hindu practices and other traditions all through his life. Outer practice without a true heart inside is fragile. Here Satan isn't a monster outside us. It is what's inside: ego, distraction and fooling ourselves. These can hollow out a practice from within, the way termites hollow out a wooden beam that still looks strong.
The Christian Bible says something similar: "Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord," will enter. The same point shows up in many traditions.
Naanak aakhai raahi pai chalnaa: Nanak says, you will have to walk the road at the end of life. Maal dhan kit koo sanji-aahee: so why pile up money and things?
Is there something you do regularly — a practice, a routine — that has become empty? What would make it real again?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI