Unstained Like the Lotus
Live fully in the world, yet stay untouched by it — like a lotus rooted in mud, blooming clean above the water.
तद्यथा पुष्करपलाश आपो न श्लिष्यन्ते
Tad yathā puṣkara-palāśa āpo na śliṣyante
As water does not cling to a lotus leaf, so wrong-doing does not cling to one who knows this.
ब्रह्मण्याधाय कर्माणि सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा करोति यः। लिप्यते न स पापेन पद्मपत्रमिवाम्भसा।।5.10।।
brahmaṇyādhāya karmāṇi saṅgaṁ tyaktvā karoti yaḥ lipyate na sa pāpena padma-patram ivāmbhasā
He who does actions, offering them to Brahman and abandoning attachment, is not tainted by sin, just as a lotus leaf is not tainted by water.
ਜੈਸੇ ਜਲ ਮਹਿ; ਕਮਲ ਅਲੇਪ ॥
jaise jal meh; kamal alep |
Punjabi
ਜਿਸ ਤਰ੍ਹਾਂ ਪਾਣੀ ਵਿੱਚ ਕੰਵਲ ਅਤੀਤ ਵਿਚਰਦਾ ਹੈ।
English
as the lotus in the water remains detached.
Common thread
Be in the water, but let no drop cling. Action without attachment leaves no stain.
Echo
Chandogya's “as water clings not to a lotus leaf,” Gita 5.10's “untouched as a lotus leaf by water,” and the Guru's “detached, like the lotus upon the water” are one single picture.
📖 A story to understand
After years of wandering, Guru Nanak settled at Kartarpur and lived as an ordinary farmer — tilling the soil, raising a family, sharing meals from his own honest labour. He showed there is no need to flee to caves or forests to find God: live rooted in the world's mud like the lotus, yet bloom untouched above its waters.
Traditional sakhi / story (simplified retelling)