ਕਹੁ ਕਬੀਰ ਤਬ ਹੀ ਨਰੁ ਜਾਗੈ ॥
kaho kabeer tab hee nar jaagai.
Says Kabir, the man wakes up,
ਜਮ ਕਾ ਡੰਡੁ ਮੂੰਡ ਮਹਿ ਲਾਗੈ ॥੩॥੨॥
jam kaa dand moond meh laagai. ||3||2||
only when the Messenger of Death hits him over the head with his club. ||3||2||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Too often people only wake up when life gives them a hard, sudden knock.
But I don't have to wait for that. I can wake up now — today, gently, on my own — and start living wide awake.
Don't wait for a hard knock to wake you up — you can wake up gently, today.
The literal line has the sleeper roused only by a blow from the Messenger of Death. The frightening figure is set aside; the medicine is kept. Most people wait for a shock — a loss, a scare — before they truly wake up to their life. Kabir's kindness here is the reminder that you don't have to wait for pain. You can choose to wake up gently, right now.
A Question to Sit With
What would it mean to live 'wide awake' this week instead of on autopilot?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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