Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
You catch a living creature, bring it home and end its body. You have ended only the clay.
The light of its life goes on, unbroken, into another form. So tell me, what have you killed?
A body can end, and the light of life inside it goes on.
Pakar jee-o aani-aa dayh binaasee — you catch a living creature and end its body. But Kabir says you have only ended maatee, the clay. The body is like a clay pot, an outer shell.
Jot saroop anaahat laagee — the light of life goes on, unbroken. It moves into another form. So Kabir asks: what have you killed?
Think of a wave. It rises and falls back, but it never stops being part of the ocean. The shape can end. The light itself stays.
What do you think stays, even when a body is gone?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI