Salok Bhagat Kabir, Salok 76 — the ache of missing
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Kabir says: the pain of missing the Lord lives in my mind like a snake, and no charm or spell can calm it.
Whoever is apart from the Lord cannot go on living; or if they live, they go wild with longing.
Missing the One can ache so deeply that nothing else can soothe it.
Birahu is the pain of being apart from someone you love. Kabir calls it a bhuyangam, a snake, living in the mind. People once believed a mant, a charm, could calm a snake bite, but mant na maanai ko-ay, this snake listens to no charm.
Raam bi-ogee naa jee-ai: one apart from the One does not live; jee-ai ta ba-uraa ho-ay, and if they live, they go half mad with longing. This is the language of love, the way someone might say "I can't live without you."
Think of missing someone so much that games and treats do not help; only seeing them again will.
What do you miss so much that it stays with you?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI