Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
You go without food to please God, yet you're cruel to other living creatures.
You look out only for yourself and ignore what others need — so what are all your holy words really worth?
This one says real goodness is measured by kindness, not by how religious you look.
Kabir speaks to a religious official, a Qazi, and points to a mismatch. Rojaa Dharai manaavai alhu — you fast to please God. Su-aadat jee-a sanghaarai — yet for your own enjoyment, you take the lives of other creatures.
Aapaa daykh avar nahee daykhai — you look after yourself and do not see what others need. So what are all your holy words worth?
You can keep every holy practice, like fasting and prayer, and still be unkind. Kabir is not mocking fasting or any faith. He is pointing at a practice with no heart in it. Think of a student who hands in perfect homework but is mean at recess. The homework is fine, but the point was missed. Real goodness shows up as kindness, to people and to every living thing. Compassion is the test.
Which shows a good heart more — following all the rules, or being kind to every living creature?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI