Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
It is guarded by the five elements and the twenty-five parts of things, by clinging, pride and jealousy, and by Maya, the mighty pull of the world.
A humble person like me does not have the strength to reach it. What should I do now, O Lord?
The fort is guarded by a whole army of wants, and on our own we are not strong enough to win it.
Kabir names the guards. Paanch means five, the five elements a body is made of, which also pull us through the senses. Pachees means twenty-five. An old Indian school of thought counted the parts of a person and the world as twenty-five pieces. Then come moh, clinging, mad, pride, and matsar, jealousy. Behind them all stands maa-i-aa, the powerful pull of the world.
Then Kabir says something very honest. Jan gareeb ko jor na pahuchai — a humble person does not have the strength. Kahaa kara-o raghuraa-i-aa — what should I do, O Lord?
Think of trying to push open a huge, heavy door by yourself. You shove and shove, and it won't move. Trying harder on your own is not enough here. The answer will be grace.
When something feels too big to handle alone, who or what do you turn to?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI