Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
I am small and poor; what chance do I have of being heard there?
That court is so far away, and only a rare few reach the palace where the One is present.
A small, poor voice longs to be heard in the faraway court of the One.
This is the Rahao, the "pause" line, the center of the shabad, the ache at its heart. Mo gareeb kee ko gujraavai: who will carry the words of poor me? Majlas door mahal ko paavai: the court is far; who reaches the palace? Kabir, a weaver whom his society placed among the low castes, voices the honest smallness every person can feel before the infinite. The longing sets up the tender answer in the final verse: what is offered is nearness, more than grandeur.
When you feel small, what helps you believe that you still matter?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI