Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
How can anyone really know another person's pain?
Not unless a caring, tender heart is alive inside them.
You can only understand someone else's hurt if you have a caring heart inside you.
This is the rahaa-o, the "pause" line, the center of Ravidas's song. It is one of his best-loved teachings.
So kat jaanai peer paraa-ee — how can anyone know another person's pain? Jaa kai antar darad na paa-ee — if there is no darad inside them. Darad means an ache for others: the feeling of their hurt in your own heart.
Think of a friend who falls off their bike. One kid laughs. Another kid runs over, because they can almost feel the scraped knee themselves. That second feeling is darad. It is where all kindness starts.
When has caring about someone helped you truly understand how they felt?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI