Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
There is a pull toward things that are not good for me. Honestly, I cannot just switch it off.
I try and try to hold back, and still it wraps around me again.
Some cravings keep coming back, no matter how hard you try.
Bikhai bikhai kee baasnaa tajee-a nah jaa-ee means the craving for bikh cannot be dropped. Bikh literally means poison, the things that harm us. Baasnaa means a deep want that sticks.
Anik jatan kar raakhee-ai fir fir laptaa-ee means "I make many efforts to hold it back, but again and again it wraps around me."
Think of trying to stop biting your nails. You promise yourself, and a day later your hand is back at your mouth. Willpower alone does not win this fight. Sikh teaching names five such inner pulls, the panch vikaar: lust, anger, greed, clinging, and pride.
Kabir's honesty is the doorway. When we stop pretending we can handle it all, we are ready for grace, the help that comes from the One.
What is a habit that keeps coming back even when you try to stop it?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI