Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
The world throws around its labels and insults so carelessly.
But stop and weigh what the words really point to — the truth underneath is almost always different from the insult on top.
This is the rahaa-o, the "pause" line. It is the center of the song, and it names the method of the whole thing.
Kootan kisai kahhu sansaar — who in this world do you call by that rude name? Sagal bolan kay maahi beechaar — in all your speech, stop and think. Beechaar means careful thought.
Kabir asks us not to take labels at face value. The names the world uses to rank and shame people often mean the opposite of what they seem. Think of a kid everyone calls "bossy" who is really the one holding the team together. Careful thought undoes careless judgment.
When has looking closer at a word or a label completely changed what you thought it meant?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI