Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Let the reading of your prayer — your genuine spiritual practice — be the oil.
Let the fear of God — the deep reverence, the awe of existing in something this vast — be the wick for the lamp of this body.
Light this lamp with the understanding of truth. Then it burns. Then it actually illuminates.
The pauri answers the rahao's question: prayer (paath) is the oil; the bhau (fear/reverence) of the divine is the wick. The lamp of the body, properly equipped, can be lit with the gian (understanding) of truth.
This is a complete meditation technology in three metaphors:
- The oil (practice, prayer) — what fills the lamp and makes it capable of burning
- The wick (reverence) — the material through which the flame travels
- The understanding of truth — the spark that lights it
All three are necessary.
Do you have a spiritual practice? If not, what would you use as an oil — what practice could you actually commit to? If yes, what's the quality of your wick?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI