Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Somebody might leave home, go live alone in the forest, eat wild roots — do everything to escape.
But if the heart is still restless inside, it just packs up its restlessness and brings it along. You cannot outrun your own mind by changing your address.
Running away from home leaves you with the same mind you brought.
Garihu taj ban khand jaa-ee-ai means someone may leave home and go off to the forest. Chun khaa-ee-ai kandaa means they may live by picking and eating wild roots. In Kabir's time, some people did this, hoping to leave all their troubles behind.
Ajahu bikaar na chhod-ee means even then, the bad habits do not leave. Bikaar means the pulls that lead us off track, like anger and greed. Man mandaa means a troubled, restless mind. We all carry some of this.
Think of moving to a new school to get away from a problem. If the worry is inside you, it rides along in your backpack. Kabir is not mocking anyone's path. He is saying real change happens inside, not just in where you live.
Have you ever tried to escape a feeling by changing where you were? Did it work?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI