Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Some pour all their care into their looks. They try on style after style. Yet they never let a drop of kindness into their hearts, not even in a dream.
This one says that a lot of effort on looks means little without kindness.
Kaa-i-aa rat baho roop rachaahee — loving the body, they try on look after look. Tin ka-o da-i-aa supnai bhee naahee — yet da-i-aa, compassion, does not reach them, not even in dreams.
Kabir is not against taking care of yourself. He is pointing at a life so busy with how it looks that kindness never gets in.
Think of a shiny new lunchbox with nothing inside. It looks great, but no one is fed. For Kabir, compassion is the real test of a true inner life.
Is it possible to spend so much time on how things *look* that you forget to be kind?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI