Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Kabir says a truly strange sight has come to light, one that turns everything upside down. It's as if the mother sheep is drinking milk from her own little lamb!
This is the strangest picture of all, and it is meant to wake us up.
Kaho kabeer pargat bha-ee khayd — Kabir says, a strange play has come into view. Laylay ka-o chooghai nit bhayd — the mother sheep drinks milk from her own lamb. That is nature turned upside down.
Kabir uses the shock to jolt the mind awake. Our usual chasing is just this backwards. What is small feeds on what is great. The outside world drains our inside world. Picture a charger trying to get its power from the phone.
When you look with new eyes, you notice how backwards the ordinary way of things can be. The riddle's job is wonder, the kind that wakes you up. The answer comes in the next verse.
What is something "normal" that actually looks a little backwards once you really stop and think about it?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI