Kabir sketches a figure lost in self-importance — fussing over appearance and busyness, with no time for the heart. The rahau names the cause: pride crowds the One out of mind, and we imagine our money and loved ones and things will stay unchanged forever. The close warns, gently, that a life spent grabbing and pretending slips away while we are distracted — better to wake up now and remember, so the heart is already home whenever life closes.
Key Vocabulary
abhimaan — pride, ego; what crowds remembrance out.
jhooth / sach — the false-and-passing vs. the real-and-lasting.
a-udh bihaan — life passing away; the days quietly running out.
Themes and Cross-Connections
The shabad's target is the ego's appetite for image and status — a "thin meal" that never nourishes. Its remedy is the same as its companions in this raag: wake, remember, invest in what lasts. The pairing of pride with mistaking the impermanent for the permanent ties it to the jhooth/sach thread that runs through Kabir's Kaydaaraa shabads.
For Raag Kaydaaraa
Against the swagger of self-importance, Kaydaaraa sets the quiet joy of remembrance — the real meal for the soul.
Translation Notes
The source's picture of "gazing on gold and a very beautiful wife, believing them permanent" is rendered without gendered framing — money, loved ones, and possessions all pass — so the teaching about impermanence carries no note of blame toward women. The closing "death will seize you, you fool" is softened to life's natural close and a gentle wake-up call, keeping the urgency without the terror.
Looking important is a thin meal for the soul.
The Arc
Kabir sketches a figure lost in self-importance — fussing over appearance and busyness, with no time for the heart. The rahau names the cause: pride crowds the One out of mind, and we imagine our money and loved ones and things will stay unchanged forever. The close warns, gently, that a life spent grabbing and pretending slips away while we are distracted — better to wake up now and remember, so the heart is already home whenever life closes.
Key Vocabulary
Themes and Cross-Connections
The shabad's target is the ego's appetite for image and status — a "thin meal" that never nourishes. Its remedy is the same as its companions in this raag: wake, remember, invest in what lasts. The pairing of pride with mistaking the impermanent for the permanent ties it to the jhooth/sach thread that runs through Kabir's Kaydaaraa shabads.
For Raag Kaydaaraa
Against the swagger of self-importance, Kaydaaraa sets the quiet joy of remembrance — the real meal for the soul.
Translation Notes
The source's picture of "gazing on gold and a very beautiful wife, believing them permanent" is rendered without gendered framing — money, loved ones, and possessions all pass — so the teaching about impermanence carries no note of blame toward women. The closing "death will seize you, you fool" is softened to life's natural close and a gentle wake-up call, keeping the urgency without the terror.