Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Kabir says: calling things 'mine, mine' is a kind of make-believe.
In the end the cage opens and the bird flies free — and all the clutching threads are left behind, empty.
Kabir ends with a picture: the body is like a cage, and the soul is like a bird.
Mayree mayree jhoothee — calling out "mine, mine" is false. When the time comes, the cage breaks and the bird flies away. Only the torn threads are left behind.
All the "mine, mine," everything we clutched and called our own, belonged to the cage. None of it was ever ours to keep. That is why Kabir calls "mine" a kind of make-believe.
But the picture is not a sad one. The bird flies free.
The whole shabad comes together here. Hold things lightly. Skip the envy. Do not clutch. Keep a peaceful heart. You are the bird, not the cage, and the bird was always meant to be free.
If you're like a bird that will one day fly free, what does that tell you about clutching things too tightly?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI