Verse 71 of 450
Salok Bhagat Kabir, Salok 13 — the axe on your own foot
ਕਬੀਰ ਦੀਨੁ ਗਵਾਇਆ ਦੁਨੀ ਸਿਉ ਦੁਨੀ ਨ ਚਾਲੀ ਸਾਥਿ ॥
kabeer deen gavaa-i-aa dunee si-o dunee na chaalee saath.
Kabir, the mortal loses his faith, for the sake of the world, but the world shall not go along with him in the end.
ਪਾਇ ਕੁਹਾੜਾ ਮਾਰਿਆ ਗਾਫਲਿ ਅਪੁਨੈ ਹਾਥਿ ॥੧੩॥
paa-ay kuhaarhaa maari-aa gaafal apunai haath. ||13||
The idiot strikes his own foot with the axe by his own hand. ||13||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Kabir says: people lose their faith for the sake of the world, yet the world does not go along with them in the end.
The careless one brings the axe down on their own foot, with their own hand.
Do not trade what lasts for what leaves you behind.
Trading what lasts for what will be left behind only hurts you.
Deen gavaa-i-aa dunee si-o: faith is given up for the sake of the world. Dunee na chaalee saath: and the world does not go along at the end. The gaafal, the careless one, has swung kuhaarhaa, an axe, onto their own foot. It is a picture of a foolish bargain that hurts the one who makes it.
A Question to Sit With
What is something that will stay with you no matter what, that is worth protecting?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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