ਇਕ ਦੁਇ ਮੰਦਰਿ ਇਕ ਦੁਇ ਬਾਟ ॥
ik du-ay mandar ik du-ay baat.
One or two are in the house, and one or two more are on the way.
ਹਮ ਕਉ ਸਾਥਰੁ ਉਨ ਕਉ ਖਾਟ ॥
ham ka-o saathar un ka-o khaat.
We sleep on the floor, while they sleep in the beds.
ਮੂਡ ਪਲੋਸਿ ਕਮਰ ਬਧਿ ਪੋਥੀ ॥
mood palos kamar baDh pothee.
They rub their bare heads, and carry prayer-books in their waist-bands.
ਹਮ ਕਉ ਚਾਬਨੁ ਉਨ ਕਉ ਰੋਟੀ ॥੩॥
ham ka-o chaaban un ka-o rotee. ||3||
We get dry grains, while they get loaves of bread. ||3||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
The seekers keep arriving, one and then another. We sleep on the hard floor while they rest easy; we get plain dry grain while they're handed warm bread.
It looks unfair from the outside — but I'd trade none of it, for what fills their hearts.
The real wealth in a room is rarely the comfort you can see.
Kabir doesn't pretend the sacrifice is painless — floor versus bed, dry grain versus warm loaves. He names the sting plainly. Yet the honest accounting only sharpens his point: he would still choose this company, because the true wealth in the room isn't the bread. It's what the seekers carry inside.
A Question to Sit With
Have you ever chosen something harder because of what it gave you on the inside?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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