Fortunate Is the One Who Sees What Holds It All Up

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa

Kabir asks a question too big for any book: what holds up the sky?

This is the Rahao, the "pause" line at the center of the shabad. Kaho ray pandit ambar kaa si-o laagaa — tell me, Pandit, what is the sky attached to? A Pandit is a learned scholar. Kabir is not making fun of him. He is putting everyone on the same ground. The biggest question cannot be answered by book-learning alone.

Boojhai boojhanhaar sabhaagaa — the one who truly knows this is fortunate. That knowing is open to anyone. Think of someone who has read every map of a trail, and someone who has walked it every day. Knowing from the inside is a different kind of knowing.