Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
Why strut around so full of ourselves, always showing off?
This body of ours is a simple, borrowed thing — here for a little while, then handed back. It is nothing to be vain about.
So I would rather walk gently and humbly, remembering what actually lasts.
Pride makes us strut. Remembering what a body really is helps us walk humbly.
This is the rahaa-o, the "pause" line. It is the center of the shabad. Chalat kat taydhay taydhay taydhay: why do you walk in that crooked, strutting way?
Kabir is poking at pride. He reminds the show-off what a body is made of, and he uses blunt words on purpose: bones, skin and things that smell. Think of a balloon blown up big. One small pin, and it is just a scrap of rubber. Kabir's blunt words are that pin for vanity.
The point is not to dislike our bodies. The point is to keep them in proportion. Our body is borrowed and here for a short while. That is a good reason to walk gently and humbly.
What is the difference between feeling good about yourself and showing off?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI