Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
First, Allah made the Light. Then, by that creative power, all beings were made.
From the one Light, the whole world welled up. So who is good, and who is bad?
Every being wells up from one Light, so no one stands higher or lower than anyone else.
This is one of Gurbani's most quoted lines — aval Allah noor upaa-i-aa. First there is one Light, and all beings well up from it. The conclusion Kabir draws is social dynamite: ka-un bhalay ko manday — if we all came from the same Light, who is high and who is low? The whole machinery of caste and rank collapses the moment you take the shared source seriously. This is Ik Onkar read as equality.
If everyone came from the same light, how might you treat someone the world calls less important?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI