Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Why get so tangled in wanting-more that you lose the real jewel — this precious life itself?
Don't let the treasure of being alive slip past unused.
The Pause names what's at stake: why attach yourself to greed and lose the jewel of life? Kabir calls this human life a jewel — something rare and precious — and warns that greed (endless wanting-more) is exactly what makes us lose it, spending it on things that don't matter while the real treasure goes unused. It's the raag's steady theme: the days are precious, so don't fritter them away grasping. For a child, the framing is a gift — your life is a jewel, not a thing to be casually spent chasing shiny distractions. Treat it as the precious, once-only treasure it is.
If your life is a precious jewel, what would it mean to spend it wisely rather than waste it?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI