ਦੀਸਤ ਮਾਸੁ ਨ ਖਾਇ ਬਿਲਾਈ ॥
deesat maas na khaa-ay bilaa-ee.
The cat sees the meat, but does not eat it,
ਮਹਾ ਕਸਾਬਿ ਛੁਰੀ ਸਟਿ ਪਾਈ ॥
mahaa kasaab chhuree sat paa-ee.
and the great butcher throws away his knife;
ਕਰਣਹਾਰ ਪ੍ਰਭੁ ਹਿਰਦੈ ਵੂਠਾ ॥
karanhaar parabh hirdai voothaa.
the Creator Lord God abides in the heart;
ਫਾਥੀ ਮਛੁਲੀ ਕਾ ਜਾਲਾ ਤੂਟਾ ॥੨॥
faathee machhulee kaa jaalaa tootaa. ||2||
the net holding the fish breaks apart. ||2||
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
The cat sees the meat and quietly leaves it alone.
The fierce butcher throws his knife away.
When the Maker comes to live inside your heart,
the net that held you like a caught fish breaks apart.
No trap is so tight that a changed heart cannot slip free of it.
No habit or trap is so tight that the One living in the heart cannot loosen it. Faathee machhulee is the fish already caught, and yet the net breaks.
The pictures here are impossible on purpose: an appetite that lets go, a hardened heart that softens, a net that springs open.
A Question to Sit With
What is a habit you'd love to feel free from?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI
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