Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
However beautiful or handsome a person may be on the outside, says Kabir, without the Name — without love of the One inside — the true beauty is still missing. The real radiance comes from within.
Kabir closes by saying that real beauty is on the inside, and the Name is what makes it shine.
Naam binaa means "without the Name." Kabir's own comparison is harsh: without the Name, even a beautiful person is like someone bent and misshapen. His point is never to mock how anyone looks. It is to turn our eyes inward.
Think of a lamp. The fanciest lamp in the store is still dark until it is switched on. A plain lamp that is lit fills the room. The Name is the light inside. This last line makes the whole shabad kind. The goal was never to shame anyone, only to point to where real beauty comes from.
What kind of beauty in a person lasts longer than the way they look?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI