Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Some travel to holy places, keep fasts, and follow every careful practice. The real key is to do it all without asking, “What do I get for this?”
When I stop keeping score, the endless thirst for more leaves me, and doubt loosens. My mind rests in the Supreme presence at the heart of everything.
Good practices free us most when we stop asking what we get back.
Kabir names five: tirath (visiting holy places), barat (fasting), naym (daily practice), such (keeping clean and pure) and sanjam (self-control). He does not throw these away. He takes out the question, "What's in it for me?" Sadaa rahai nihkaamaa means staying always free of wanting a reward. The Bhagavad Gita, a Hindu scripture, has a close idea called nishkaam karma: doing good without wanting a payoff.
Think of helping a friend clean up after a party. If you do it for points, it feels like a trade. If you do it out of love, it feels light. Kabir's warning is about treating faith like a trade, in any tradition. It is not about the practices themselves.
Then, chitvat aatam raamaa, remembering the One, the Soul of all, the thirst for more and the doubt fall away.
Can you think of a time you did something kind expecting nothing back — how did it feel?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI