Salok Bhagat Kabir, Salok 85 — the cry at the cremation ground
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Kabir says: a widow at her husband's funeral fire cries out, "Listen, O cremation ground, my brother!
All the people have gone away. In the end, it is only you and me."
When everyone else has gone home, a heart that has given everything is left facing what is final.
In Kabir's time, some widows were made to die on their husband's funeral fire, and such a woman was called a satee. The Sikh Gurus spoke strongly against this. Guru Amar Das taught that those who burn with the dead are not the true satee; the true ones are those who live with goodness and contentment.
Kabir uses the old picture for a heart that holds nothing back. She turns to beer masaan, "brother cremation ground": log sabaa-i-aa chal ga-i-o, everyone has gone. Ham tum kaam nidaan: in the end, only you and I are left.
This is a picture of a heart that holds nothing back, not a wish to stop living. If you ever do feel so sad that you wish you weren't here, tell a grown-up you trust right away. That is always the right thing to do.
What would you want close to you when everyone else has gone home?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI