Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
The yogis, those who never marry, those who live hard lives, and the wandering monks all travel to every sacred place.
Some shave their heads, some keep silent, some wear long matted hair. Yet every one of them, in the end, comes to the same ending we all do.
Kabir is saying: no matter how holy someone looks, everyone comes to the same ending.
He lists the people who seem most devoted and disciplined. There are jogee, yogis. There are jatee, those who never marry, and tapee, those who live very strict, hard lives. There are sani-aasee, wandering monks, and pilgrims who travel to every holy place. There are monks with shaven heads, people who keep silent, and those with long matted hair.
Then comes the line he repeats through the whole shabad: ant ta-oo marnaa — in the end, they too will die. It sounds stark, but its purpose is to make things clear. Death comes to everyone, however impressive their record of holy practice. The point is not that these practices are bad. It is that none of them changes the ending.
So the shabad keeps building toward one question. If everyone ends the same way, what really matters while we are here? Not the impressive show, but something deeper. Death is the great equalizer. It cuts through all the showing off.
If everyone ends up the same way, what do you think truly matters about how we live?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI