Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Friend, why steer your own boat into the shallows and let it sink? You loosened your grip on the One. You grabbed instead at what only pulls you down.
Kabir asks, kindly but urgently, why we would sink our own boat.
This is the Rahao, the "pause" line at the center of the shabad. Ray nar naav cha-urh kat borhee — friend, why have you wrecked your boat and sunk it? Har si-o torh bikhi-aa sang jorhee — you broke away from the One and held on to bikhi-aa, what pulls you down.
The boat is your life. The shallows are the things that tangle us. The One is the safe, deep water. Think of letting go of a strong friend's hand to grab a floating stick.
This is not a scolding. It is a gentle, urgent call: turn back, and take hold of the One again.
What is something you could gently loosen your grip on so you stop drifting?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI