ਕਟੀ ਨ ਕਟੈ ਤੂਟਿ ਨਹ ਜਾਈ ॥
katee na katai toot nah jaa-ee.
By cutting, she cannot be cut, and she cannot be broken.
ਸਾ ਸਾਪਨਿ ਹੋਇ ਜਗ ਕਉ ਖਾਈ ॥੨॥
saa saapan ho-ay jag ka-o khaa-ee. ||2||
She has become a serpent, and she is eating the world. ||2||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
You can't just slice this clinging away — it won't be cut, it won't snap.
Left unchecked, it grows and grows, swallowing the whole world's peace.
You cannot force clinging away by cutting at it — it loosens another way.
Kabir uses a vivid image (a serpent) for how moh resists brute force. You cannot simply will attachment gone by cutting at it. It loosens another way — which the final verse reveals.
A Question to Sit With
Have you noticed that trying hard to stop wanting something can make you want it more?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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