Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
The One I love lives on my tongue, in my eyes, in my very heart — with me completely.
When the big questions of life come, what will a person have to show, if all they had was outer show?
When life comes down to what is real, only what is inside you counts.
This is the Rahao, the "pause" line at the center of the shabad. Kabir tells us his quiet wealth. The One lives jihbaa, on his tongue, nain, in his eyes, and hirdai, in his heart. The One is woven all through him, the way thread runs all through cloth. No title can match that.
Then he asks a sharp question of the one who trusted only outer things. Jam du-aar jab poochhas — when you are asked at Death's door, what will you say? Jam du-aar, the door of Death, is an old picture for the end of life, when we look at what was truly real.
This is not meant to be cruel. It is a wake-up call. Think of a sandcastle that looks amazing until the tide comes in. Titles and learning worn like jewelry cannot answer life's deepest question. Only what you have made real inside can.
What's something 'real inside' you that would matter more than any title or prize?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI