Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
You go round and round like an ox at the oil-press, and the night of life passes without freedom.
Kabir says: without the Name, you will hold your head. You will be sorry.
Being busy is not the same as getting somewhere.
Kabir ends with the ox at the oil-press. In old villages, an ox walked round and round a press to squeeze oil from seeds. Its eyes were often covered. It walked all day and never went anywhere. Bharmat firat taylak kay kap ji-o — you wander in circles like the ox at the oil-press. Gat bin rain bih-eehai — the night of your life passes without freedom.
Then Kabir says that without Raam naam, the Name of the One, you will be left full of regret. That is the sadness of wasted motion. But every hard line in this shabad hides its remedy: the Name, the turn, the center. Kabir throws the cold water so the sleeper wakes up. He wants you to turn while there is still time.
Are you 'busy but going in circles' anywhere? What would stepping off the wheel look like?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI