Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
You can wear the finest scents and softest things — and there's nothing wrong with that. But none of it is the deepest part of you. Beauty of appearance is a lovely, passing thing.
This one says outer beauty fades, and the beauty that lasts grows inside.
Cho-aa chandan mardan angaa — rubbing sandalwood oil and sweet scent on the body. It stands for all the ways we make ourselves look and smell nice.
Once again the verse ends with the body going to the fire with the firewood. The gentle truth is that outer beauty is a passing thing. Think of a sandcastle: lovely to look at, and gone with the tide.
Kabir is not against enjoying nice things. He is pointing to where the lasting beauty lives: inside.
What is a kind of beauty in a person that doesn't fade even as they grow older?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI