Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
When a life ends, all its bonds finally fall open and it lets go of everything it held.
But Kabir says: the one who loves the One breaks free of those bonds now — free and alive, without waiting for the end.
Kabir's beautiful conclusion: at death, the bonds are opened and one leaves everything behind — all the ties and attachments simply release. But here's the turn that redeems the whole shabad: one who meditates on the Lord breaks his bonds even while yet alive. This is jeevan-mukti — freedom while living — the raag's radiant promise. You don't have to wait for death to be free of the grasping, the fear, the tight knots of 'mine.' A heart that loves the One is already free, right now, while fully, joyfully alive. The whole meditation on death turns, at the last line, into an invitation to life: why wait for the end to let go, when love can free you today? Be free now — awake, alive, and unbound.
What would it feel like to be truly free — light, unafraid, unclutched — while fully alive today?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI