Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Rice and beans, sweets and cakes — the one who runs the ritual enjoys them himself.
The lifeless statue just sits there with ashes, and gets none of it.
This one says a ritual can slowly end up serving the people who run it instead of the heart.
Kabir paints the scene with a little humor. Rice, beans, sweets, and cakes are brought as offerings. The one running the ritual enjoys them all. The statue gets only ashes.
So the "offering" feeds the person in charge. It never reaches a living god at all.
Kabir is not against food or giving, and he is not aiming at any faith. He is watching for the moment a holy show quietly becomes about the wrong thing. Think of a school fundraiser where the organizers keep the best snacks. The idea was good, but it drifted. So check whether a holy practice is still about love and the One, or has turned into going through the motions.
How can you tell if something done in the name of goodness is real, or just going through the motions?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI