Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
A soul that only ever looks outward, through the body's nine openings, misses the priceless treasure entirely.
Kabir says: attention keeps leaking out through those nine gates. Rise instead to the Tenth Gate within. There you meet the true essence, the One.
Turn your attention inward, to the "Tenth Gate," and meet the One who was hidden inside all along.
Kabir ends with his well-known picture of the Tenth Gate, the dasvaan duaar. The body has nine openings: two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, a mouth, and two more below. Through these nine doors our attention keeps flowing outward, toward the world.
Na-o ghar daykh jo kaaman bhoolee — looking only through the nine doors, the soul-bride loses her way. The soul is pictured as a bride looking for her Beloved. Basat anoop na paa-ee — she does not find the treasure beyond compare.
Navai ghar moosay — the nine houses are being robbed. Our attention leaks out through them. Dasvain tat samaa-ee — at the Tenth, merge into the true essence.
The Tenth Gate is not a hole in the body. It is the inward doorway of deep awareness. There you meet the tat, the true essence, the One. Think of a house where every window looks out at the street. The best room is the quiet one in the middle.
That is the whole song: wake up, gather your attention, turn inward, and find what was hidden inside you all along.
What might you notice if you spent a quiet moment looking inward instead of out?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI