Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Some wear the human costume but live like animals - snapping and cursing at others day and night.
Outside, holy robes; inside, the grime of greed. The disguise never quite works - what is inside shows.
Outside, a show of knowledge, meditation, cleanliness; inside, the dog of greed still gnawing. A fire of wanting inside; ashes smeared on the skin outside.
With a stone tied around your neck, how do you swim an ocean? But Nanak says: those with the One living inside cross with natural ease.
A fake outside cannot hide what is inside, and what is inside decides whether you float or sink.
The verse turns from forgetting to its cousin: pretending. That means working hard on how you look outside while leaving the inside messy.
The pictures are strong. Baahar gi-aan Dhi-aan isnaan — outside, a show of wisdom, meditation, and bathing. Antar bi-aapai lobh su-aan — inside, the dog of greed. Inside, a fire of wanting. Outside, ashes smeared on the skin. The robes and the ashes are not the problem. The problem is when they cover an empty inside, which can happen in any faith.
Then the stone. Gal paathar kaisay tarai athaah — with a stone around the neck, how can anyone cross the deep ocean? The stone is the hidden inside itself. It is the weight that makes the ocean too hard to cross, no matter how fancy the swimsuit.
Chhapas naahi kachh karai chhapaa-i-aa — they cannot hide it, however hard they try. That is worth saying plainly to children. What is inside always shows. In your eyes, and in small choices. Think of a phone with a pretty case and a cracked screen. Sooner or later, you see the crack.
The last two lines flip the whole picture. Jaa kai antar basai parabh aap — those in whom the One lives. Naanak tay jan sahj samaat — they merge into the One with sahaj, natural ease. The others strain and sink. These rest, and cross.
Is there a difference between how you act when people watch and when they do not? What would it take to make them the same?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI