Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
There is One Creator of all, known by the True Guru's grace. These are Kabir's songs.
With four feet, two horns and a mouth that cannot speak, how could you sing the praises of the One?
Standing up or sitting down, the stick still comes down on you. Where will you hide your head then?
This one wakes you up with a strange picture: an animal that cannot sing.
These are the words of Kabir, a weaver-saint whose poems are in the Guru Granth Sahib. He starts with a jarring image. Chaar paav du-ay sing gung mukh — four feet, two horns, and a mouth with no words. How could that creature sing the One's praises? Oothat baithat thaygaa parihai — standing or sitting, the driver's stick still falls. Where will you hide your head?
It sounds harsh, but it is not meant to hurt. It is a caring shake. Think of a friend splashing cold water on your face when you have slept through the alarm. A human life holds something rare. We can remember the One, and we can sing. Kabir does not want that life spent only on eating and wanting. The hard picture is there to wake you, not to wound you.
Where might you be running on 'instinct and appetite' instead of your real capacity to choose and to love?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI