Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Life takes so many shapes — still things and moving things, tiny creatures and great ones. In one way or another, the same life-spark has worn countless costumes and played countless parts across all of it.
Life comes in countless shapes, and Kabir feels he has passed through many of them.
Asthaavar jangam keet patangaa — the still and the moving, insects and moths. Asthaavar means things that stay in one place, like plants. Jangam means things that move. Anik janam kee-ay baho rangaa — I have lived many lives, in many colors.
This is less a list of past lives to worry about, and more a feeling of wonder at all the kinds of life. Some people see here the One present in every form, though the verse itself does not say so. It also brings humility: we are not so separate from the smallest creature. Picture a garden where the ant, the bee, the tree and you are all part of one living story.
When you look at a tiny insect and a huge animal, what do you think they share with you?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI