Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Almost everyone spends their days going around saying, "I'll grab this, I'll get that, this is mine, that's mine." And because of all that grasping and wanting, they end up carrying a heavy load of worry and sadness.
But when someone turns their love instead toward the One — the true source of all richness — their sorrow lifts away. The grabbing quiets, the heart unclenches, and a whole, complete peace settles in. Loving the One is worth infinitely more than clutching at things.
Grabbing at more and more only piles up worry. Loving the One lets the sorrow go.
This verse plays with a sound. Li-o li-o karat firai sabh log — everyone goes around saying "I'll take, I'll take." You can almost hear a small child saying "gimme, gimme." Kabir uses the repeated li-o li-o as this verse's letter, a small change in the alphabet poem.
Taa kaaran bi-aapai baho sog — because of it, much sog, sadness, takes hold of them. Kabir says the root of so much unhappiness is this grabbing. It is the ego's restless "mine, mine, mine."
Lakhimee bar si-o ja-o li-o laavai — when someone gives their love to the bar, the Lord, of Lakhimee. Lakhimee is Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth in Hindu stories. The Lord of wealth is the true Source of all richness. So this means turning toward the Source, instead of chasing its shadow.
Sog mitai sabh hee sukh paavai — the sorrow is wiped away, and complete peace comes.
The wordplay is neat. The same "taking" that brings sadness becomes, when you turn it toward the One, a "taking in" of love. And that love heals.
Have you noticed how wanting more and more things can actually make you feel less happy, not more?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI