Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
In time the loom falls quiet and the thread runs out; the weaving of a life comes to its natural close.
So while you are here, gently loosen your grip on things that do not last, and hold what truly does. Understand this, says Kabir, and you will be at peace.
The close: chhochhee nalee, tant nahee niksai — the shuttle is empty, the thread of breath no longer comes, and what is left is tangled and run out; the weaving ends. We meet that close with compassion rather than dread. Kabir's counsel — chhod pasaar — is to loosen our grip on passing things (pasaar, the show of the world) while we live, and hold the lasting One. The whole weaving metaphor resolves into a warm, practical wisdom: live lightly, hold what endures.
What in your life truly lasts, and what is more like thread that will one day run out?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI