When a Heart Changes, the Lion Becomes a Shepherd

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa

This one gives the center picture: a lion that has become a shepherd.

This is the Rahao, the "pause" line, the center of the shabad. Listen to this wonderful thing, Kabir says. I saw a lion herding the cows. The lion is not hunting them. It is caring for them.

This is Kabir's lovely picture of the change that waking up brings. The lion is the fierce, grabby, dangerous forces in us, like anger or the ego. They turn gentle and caring. They stop preying on others and start looking after them.

Think of a big kid who used to push the little ones around, and now walks them safely across the playground. When a heart truly changes, what was scary in it turns protective. That is the wonderful thing Kabir keeps pointing to.