Verse 192 of 450
Salok Bhagat Kabir, Salok 134 — ripe mangoes and the crows
ਕਬੀਰ ਫਲ ਲਾਗੇ ਫਲਨਿ ਪਾਕਨਿ ਲਾਗੇ ਆਂਬ ॥
kabeer fal laagay falan paakan laagay aaNb.
Kabir, the fruit trees are bearing fruit, and the mangoes are becoming ripe.
ਜਾਇ ਪਹੂਚਹਿ ਖਸਮ ਕਉ ਜਉ ਬੀਚਿ ਨ ਖਾਹੀ ਕਾਂਬ ॥੧੩੪॥
jaa-ay pahoocheh khasam ka-o ja-o beech na khaahee kaaNb. ||134||
They will reach the owner, only if the crows do not eat them first. ||134||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Kabir says: the trees are full of fruit, and the mangoes are starting to ripen.
They will reach their Owner only if the crows do not eat them along the way.
Guard the good that is ripening in you.
What grows good in us needs guarding until it reaches the One.
Fal laagay falan: the fruit is setting. Paakan laagay: it starts to ripen. Jaa-ay pahoocheh khasam ka-o: it will reach the Owner, the Master of the orchard, ja-o beech na khaahee, if nothing eats it on the way.
In the old reading, the ripening fruit is a life that has grown good, and the crows are the pulls along the way, like greed and pride, that can spoil it before it reaches the One.
A Question to Sit With
What good thing in you needs protecting while it grows?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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