Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Even the learned teachers, the deep meditators, the great speakers can get tangled up in the busyness of the world.
Says Kabir: without the One's Name, the whole world stumbles along. It is dazzled and half-blind to what matters most.
Kabir says even wise and learned people can get dazzled by the busy world, and it is the Name that keeps the heart clear.
Gi-aanee Dhi-aanee baho updaysee — the wise, the meditators, the great preachers. Kabir's leveling reaches even the most respected people. Knowledge and status do not promise a heart turned toward the One.
He is not criticizing learning. The problem is getting so caught up in DhanDhaa, busyness, that the One is forgotten. Think of a brilliant student so busy with every club and contest that they forget to call their grandmother.
Bin i-aa jag maa-i-aa anDhaa — without the Name, the world is blinded by maya, the passing show. The picture is of being so surrounded by glitter that you lose sight of what is real.
The cure, as always for Kabir, is the Naam, the Name: keeping the One present in the heart. And it is open to everyone. Kabir himself was a weaver, and the Name is his as fully as any scholar's.
Is being smart the same as being wise? What might be the difference?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI