Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
When one flame joins another flame, what happens to it? It does not vanish — it becomes one greater light.
And a heart in which the One's Name never rises up feels dry and unlit; may every heart find that living spark instead.
When one light joins another, nothing is lost. They become one bigger light.
Kabir begins with a glowing picture. Ayk jot aykaa milee — one light merges into another. Jot means light, or flame. Think of lighting one candle from another and holding the two wicks together. You cannot tell where one flame ends. Neither is lost. Together they are one brightness. This is Kabir's picture of the soul joining the One.
The second line is very stern. It says the person whose heart never lets the Name rise up may as well burst and die. Its point is that the Name is living light, and a heart without it goes dark. The best way to hear it is as a wish turned the other way round: may every heart find that living spark.
Have you ever felt your own "light" grow brighter by joining with someone else's?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI