Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
The One you're looking for lives right inside you — but you never quiet down enough to notice.
If you don't care about others, all your zeal is empty.
This is the pause line, the center of the shabad. Kabir tells the Qazi, gently but firmly: the One is inside you, and faith that does not care for others is empty.
Kaajee saahib ayk tohee meh — "Qazi, the One Master is within you." Tayraa soch bichaar na daykhai — but your thinking never stops to see Him. People look for God in books, rules, and rituals. The One they seek is inside them. They just never get quiet enough to notice.
Then the sharpest line: khabar na karahi deen kay ba-uray — you do not care for others, you who are wild about religion. Taa tay janam alaykhai — so your life counts for nothing.
Being fiercely religious means nothing without care for people. It can even do harm. Think of a fan who loves the team so much they boo everyone else. That is not love of the game. Real faith always makes you kinder.
How can you tell the difference between faith that makes someone kinder and 'faith' that just makes them fierce?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI