ਗਉੜੀ ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀ ॥
ga-orhee kabeer jee.
Gauree, Kabir Jee:
ਮਨ ਕਾ ਸੁਭਾਉ ਮਨਹਿ ਬਿਆਪੀ ॥
man kaa subhaa-o maneh bi-aapee.
The natural tendency of the mind is to chase the mind.
ਮਨਹਿ ਮਾਰਿ ਕਵਨ ਸਿਧਿ ਥਾਪੀ ॥੧॥
maneh maar kavan siDh thaapee. ||1||
Who has established himself as a Siddha, a being of miraculous spiritual powers, by killing his mind? ||1||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
The mind's own nature is to chase after itself, round and round. So can anyone really become wise or powerful just by trying to force the mind into silence? The chase does not end by fighting it.
You cannot quiet a restless mind by force — the chase does not end by fighting it.
Kabir poses a riddle about the mind (man). Its nature is to run after itself endlessly. He questions the yogic idea of "killing the mind" by force to gain spiritual powers (sidh): you cannot win the chase by force. We render "killing the mind" gently as trying to force it silent — the point is that force is not the way.
A Question to Sit With
Has trying hard to "just stop thinking" ever actually made your mind quieter?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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