Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Time keeps moving, and everything built of straw eventually returns — the whole play is unfolding all around us on every side.
Says Kabir: to cross the wide, rough waters of this life, I have simply taken shelter with the True Teacher. And in that shelter, I am safe.
Nothing here lasts forever, and Kabir's answer to that is shelter with the True Teacher.
A-odh anal tan tin ko mandar — age is the fire, and the body is a house of straw. Chahu dis thaat tha-i-o — on all four sides, this play is going on. It is a strong way of saying something true: time keeps moving, and nothing here is permanent. The point is honesty, not dread.
Then comes the turn. Kahi kabeer bhai saagar taran ka-o mai satgur ot la-i-o — says Kabir, to cross the bhai saagar, the frightening world-ocean, I have taken ot, shelter, with the Satgur, the True Teacher. The frightening ocean becomes simply wide, rough water that you cross with help.
The whole restless shabad ends in refuge. Think of a small child crossing a busy street, holding a parent's hand. The traffic is still there, but the child is safe. Kabir's answer to things passing is not fear. It is shelter.
Where — or with whom — do you feel safest when things get hard?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI