Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
People shape gods and goddesses out of clay with their own hands. Then they offer up living creatures before them.
But a shape you made yourself cannot speak back or say what it needs. Neither can those who have passed on.
Something we make with our hands can point to the Real, but it is not the Real itself.
Maatee kay kar dayvee dayvaa — people shape gods and goddesses out of clay. Then they offer living creatures before them. Kabir is pointing at a common mistake: treating the outer object or ceremony as if it were the living reality it was meant to point to. It is like loving a photo of a friend so much that you forget to call the friend.
This fits empty form in any tradition. It is not aimed at anyone's sincere devotion. Kabir's own aim is Paarbrahm, the highest, formless One. That One is present everywhere, and no one can make It.
He also links back to the ancestors from the opening line. Aapan kahi-aa na layhee — they cannot even ask for what they want. A clay figure cannot speak either. It stands for any form we mistake for the real thing.
Have you ever cared so much about the outside of something that you forgot what it was really for?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI