Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Wake up now, dear one — keep your mind awake and aware.
It's easy to drift through life half-asleep and let the days slip by while the treasure inside goes unnoticed. Meanwhile, thieves slip in and rob the house.
Wake up to your own life; the treasure inside is worth noticing.
This is the Rahao, the "pause" line at the center of the shabad. Its message is simple: wake up. Ab man jaagat rahu ray bhaa-ee — now keep your mind awake, O brother. Bhaa-ee means brother, or friend. It is a warm word, not a harsh one.
Kabir is not scolding. He is like a friend gently shaking your shoulder in the morning.
Gaafal ho-ay kai janam gavaa-i-o — being careless, you have wasted your life. Gaafal means careless or half-asleep. It means moving through the day on autopilot and forgetting the treasure inside.
Chor musai ghar jaa-ee — thieves are robbing the house. The thieves are our own scattered habits and cravings. They quietly steal our attention, like a phone that eats an afternoon one scroll at a time.
So this is an invitation, not a warning of doom. Wake up to what you already have.
What helps you feel truly awake and present, instead of drifting on autopilot?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI