Salok Bhagat Kabir, Salok 108 — the fast and the donkey
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Kabir says: the woman who leaves behind remembering the One, and keeps the Ahoi fast instead,
will be born again as a donkey, carrying a load of four heavy sacks.
A ritual that takes the place of remembering the One turns into a heavy load.
Aho-ee raakhai naar: a woman keeping the Ahoi fast. Ahoi is a fast that mothers in North India kept, and still keep, for the well-being of their children. Kabir names it because it was common all around him.
His point holds for anyone of any faith: a practice that replaces remembering the One becomes a burden, like the gadhee, the donkey, that bhaar sahai man chaar, carries four heavy loads. The fast itself, and the love of a mother behind it, are not what Kabir is aiming at; he aims at forgetting the One.
What do you do out of habit that would feel lighter with your heart in it?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI