Verse 199 of 450
Salok Bhagat Kabir, Salok 141 — musk and the bumblebees
ਕਬੀਰੁ ਕਸਤੂਰੀ ਭਇਆ ਭਵਰ ਭਏ ਸਭ ਦਾਸ ॥
kabeer kastooree bha-i-aa bhavar bha-ay sabh daas.
Kabir, the Lord is like musk; all His slaves are like bumble bees.
ਜਿਉ ਜਿਉ ਭਗਤਿ ਕਬੀਰ ਕੀ ਤਿਉ ਤਿਉ ਰਾਮ ਨਿਵਾਸ ॥੧੪੧॥
ji-o ji-o bhagat kabeer kee ti-o ti-o raam nivaas. ||141||
The more Kabir worships Him, the more the Lord abides within his mind. ||141||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Kabir says: the One is like musk, and all the One's servants are like bumblebees drawn to its scent.
The more Kabir worships, the more the One comes to live within him.
The more you love the One, the more the One lives in you.
The more a person loves the One, the more the One lives within them.
Kastooree is musk, a rich scent that draws others to it. Bhavar are bumblebees. Ji-o ji-o bhagat kabeer kee: as Kabir's devotion grows, ti-o ti-o raam nivaas: so Raam comes to live in him more and more.
The Gurmukhi can also be read with Kabir himself becoming fragrant like musk, because the One lives inside him, so that the devoted gather around him like bees.
A Question to Sit With
What draws you the way a scent draws a bee?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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