Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Devotion to the Lord is love for the Lord. The Gurmukh reflects deeply and contemplates.
Putting on a show is not devotion. Speaking with a split, two-sided heart leads only to misery.
Those humble beings filled with deep understanding stay true to themselves, even when they mix with others.
This one says real devotion is love, not a show.
Har bhagat har kaa pi-aar hai: devotion to the One is love for the One. Bhagat (devotion) is pi-aar (love) — real love, felt deep inside. It isn't a performance. It isn't about getting all the outward signs right.
Pakhand bhagat na hova-ee: pakhand, putting on a show, is not devotion. The show-off says the right words on the outside while being split on the inside. Dubidhaa bol khu-aar: speaking from that split, from dubidhaa (two-mindedness), brings only misery. A heart pulling in two ways can't hold together forever. Think of someone who smiles at a friend and then mocks her behind her back. Sooner or later, that crack shows.
So jan ralaa-i-aa naa ralai jis antar bibayk beechaar: people with clear, wise understanding inside stay true to themselves even when they mix with everyone else. They live in the everyday world, busy with family and work, yet their hearts rest in the One. Guru Amar Das strongly praises this life of the grihast, the householder.
What is the difference, for you, between performing something and genuinely meaning it? Can you always tell the difference from the inside?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI