ਨਿਰਧਨ ਆਦਰੁ ਕੋਈ ਨ ਦੇਇ ॥
nirDhan aadar ko-ee na day-ay.
No one respects the poor man.
ਲਾਖ ਜਤਨ ਕਰੈ ਓਹੁ ਚਿਤਿ ਨ ਧਰੇਇ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
laakh jatan karai oh chit na Dharay-ay. ||1|| rahaa-o.
He may make thousands of efforts, but no one pays any attention to him. ||1||Pause||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
No one gives respect to a person who is poor.
They may try a hundred thousand times, and still no one pays them any attention.
The world's respect follows money, not worth — but that says nothing about the person.
People often overlook someone who has no money, however hard that person tries.
This is the rahaa-o, the "pause" line, the center of the shabad. Nirdhan aadar ko-ee na day-ay: no one honors the poor person. Laakh jatan karai oh chit na dharay-ay: they may make a hundred thousand efforts, and still no one keeps them in mind. Kabir, a poor weaver himself, tells the plain truth about how the world treats people with little.
A Question to Sit With
Have you ever seen someone overlooked or ignored for a reason that had nothing to do with who they are?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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