Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Think of the street performer the world looks down on. Say she sweeps her own heart clean and teaches her restless urges to sit still. Say she gives herself fully to the One --
then I would gladly call her my teacher.
Kabir says that even someone the world looks down on can be his teacher.
A bajaaree was a street dancer, and the society of Kabir's day scorned her. Bajaaree so jo bajaarahi soDhai — the true street dancer is the one who sweeps clean the street of her own body. She teaches her five restless urges to settle. She knows how to love the One.
Then comes the surprise: so baajaaree ham gur maanay — such a street dancer I accept as my Guru. That turns the whole ranking of caste and status upside down. Think of the quiet kid everyone overlooks, who turns out to be the kindest and wisest in the class. Worth is measured by where the heart is facing, never by the label the world hands you.
Who is someone the world overlooks that you could actually learn something important from?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI