Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Go ahead — say what you like about me. Let the whole world find fault with me.
Strange as it sounds, I have made peace with being criticized. It has become like a parent to me — something that helps me grow up.
This is one of Kabir's boldest, most surprising songs. He takes the thing everyone fears — being talked about, put down, criticized — and turns it completely around. The rahao (the pause-line that holds the whole song's theme) sets the puzzle: how could slander be pleasing? Kabir is not celebrating cruelty. He is showing a mind so rooted in the One that other people's opinions can no longer shake it — and can even be put to use. Calling slander "father and mother" is his playful, riddle-loving way of saying: this is what raised me, this is what taught me not to depend on applause.
Can you think of a time a hard comment actually helped you grow, even if it stung at first?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI