Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Don't hide behind an outer show of being proper —
in the end, that kind of appearance won't gain you anything real at all.
Kabir gently challenges an outer custom of the day — covering the face with a veil as a display of modesty — and uses it to make a universal point: this outer show won't bring you even half a shell (the smallest coin). Putting on an appearance of being proper and virtuous, he says, gains you nothing lasting. Kabir isn't against modesty or good manners; he's against appearance without substance — looking virtuous rather than being it. It's the same teaching the whole raag keeps sounding: the outer show is worthless if there's nothing real behind it. And he's about to say what real adornment looks like — and it's surprisingly joyful.
What's the difference between looking good and actually being good?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI