Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
So tell me, thoughtful scholar — who is truly pure, then?
Turn your mind toward that deeper wisdom instead, my friend.
This is the Rahao, the "pause" line, the center of the shabad. It asks the real question: who is truly pure?
Kaho ray pandee-aa ka-un paveetaa — tell me, O Pandit, who is pure? A pandit is a learned scholar. Kabir asks warmly, and even calls him mayray meetaa, "my friend."
If impurity is everywhere, then it is clearly the wrong way to measure. So who is pure? Aisaa gi-aan japahu — dwell on that kind of wisdom. Gi-aan means wisdom.
Think of judging a book only by a smudge on its cover. Kabir invites everyone to look at what is inside, instead of counting spots on the outside.
What actually makes a person good — the rules they keep, or something deeper?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI