Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Think of a flower blooming far out in an empty wilderness. Its sweetness drifts away, and no one is near to enjoy it.
A life can wander and wander like that too, its fragrance unshared. It passes through change after change, and no one ever tastes it.
A beautiful life that is never shared is like a flower blooming where no one can smell it.
Ji-o udi-aan kusam parfulit kineh na gharaa-o la-i-o — like a flower blooming in the wilderness, whose scent no one enjoys. It is one of Kabir's loveliest pictures. The beauty and the fragrance are real, but no one is there to receive them. It is a picture of a life full of promise that never opens toward love or the One.
The second line speaks of wandering from life to life, with death coming again and again. The ache it points to is the same as the flower's: a sweetness that longs to be shared, and never is. Think of baking cookies and leaving them in a locked cupboard. They are good, but no one ever tastes them.
The invitation is quiet. Let your bloom be shared.
What's a gift in you that you'd love to share with the people around you?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI