Verse 229 of 450
Salok Bhagat Kabir, Salok 171 — the stars fade, the Naam stays
ਕਬੀਰ ਪਰਭਾਤੇ ਤਾਰੇ ਖਿਸਹਿ ਤਿਉ ਇਹੁ ਖਿਸੈ ਸਰੀਰੁ ॥
kabeer parbhaatay taaray khiseh ti-o ih khisai sareer.
Kabir, just as the stars disappear at dawn, so shall this body disappear.
ਏ ਦੁਇ ਅਖਰ ਨਾ ਖਿਸਹਿ ਸੋ ਗਹਿ ਰਹਿਓ ਕਬੀਰੁ ॥੧੭੧॥
ay du-ay akhar naa khiseh so geh rahi-o kabeer. ||171||
Only the letters of God's Name do not disappear; Kabir holds these tight. ||171||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Kabir says: just as the stars fade away at dawn, this body too will fade away.
Only the two letters of the One's Name never fade. Kabir holds on to them tight.
The body fades like a star at dawn; the Naam stays.
The body fades like the stars at dawn; the Naam stays.
Parbhaatay taaray khiseh: at dawn, the stars slip out of sight one by one. Ti-o ih khisai sareer: this body slips away the same way. The picture is gentle and plain. Ay du-ay akhar naa khiseh: these two letters do not fade. They are often read as raa and ma, the name Raam that Kabir uses for the One. So geh rahi-o kabeer: Kabir holds them tight.
A Question to Sit With
What would you want to hold on to when everything else changes?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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