Sikhism·Closing Sections·The Closing Saloks
Verse 78 of 450

Salok Bhagat Kabir, Salok 20 — the thief who couldn't rob me

ਕਬੀਰ ਮਾਇਆ ਚੋਰਟੀ ਮੁਸਿ ਮੁਸਿ ਲਾਵੈ ਹਾਟਿ ॥
kabeer maa-i-aa chortee mus mus laavai haat.
Kabir, Maya is the thief, which breaks in and plunders the store.
ਏਕੁ ਕਬੀਰਾ ਨਾ ਮੁਸੈ ਜਿਨਿ ਕੀਨੀ ਬਾਰਹ ਬਾਟ ॥੨੦॥
ayk kabeeraa naa musai jin keenee baarah baat. ||20||
Only Kabir is not plundered; he has cut her into twelve pieces. ||20||

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa

In plain words

Kabir says: Maya is a thief who breaks in and robs, and lays out the stolen goods in her shop.

Only Kabir is not robbed, for he has broken her into twelve pieces.

Break the grip of wanting, and it cannot steal from you.
The deeper layer

Once you break the grip of wanting, it cannot rob you anymore.

Maya, the pull of wanting, is pictured as a chortee, a thief, who robs people again and again, mus mus, and sets out what she took in her haat, her shop. Kabir alone is not robbed: jin keenee baarah baat, he has broken her into twelve pieces, a saying for scattering something so fully that it has no power left.

A Question to Sit With

What is one "I need more" feeling you have learned to see through?

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI

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