Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
People of the One, I am just a simple person. And my simple heart can see this much.
If just dying in a famous holy city could set me free, then it would be the city doing the work — not my love, and not the One's grace. I would rather owe everything to love than to a place on a map.
No holy place can do the work that a loving heart does.
This is the rahaa-o, the "pause" line, the center of the shabad. Kabir starts humbly: har kay logaa mai ta-o mat kaa bhoraa, people of the One, I am just a simple person. He means plain and humble, not worthless.
Then he makes a sharp point: ja-o tan kaasee tajeh kabeeraa rama-ee-ai kahaa nihoraa. Kaashi, also called Benares, is a famous holy city. If dying there were enough to set a soul free, Kabir asks, what thanks would I owe the One? Grace would become a matter of the right address, like a prize for standing in the right spot. Kabir gently takes apart this idea of place-magic.
Can a place make you good, or does the goodness have to come from inside you?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI