Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
A bee works so hard, gathering and storing sweet honey, drop by drop, and then it flies away and someone else enjoys the hive.
We can be like that too, piling up more and more, forgetting that we cannot carry any of it with us when we go.
Kabir says we can be like bees, gathering and gathering, forgetting we can't take any of it with us.
Ji-o madh maakhee: like the honeybee. The bee works hard, storing honey drop by drop, and in the end someone else enjoys the hive. Sathor ras jor jor dhan kee-aa: in the same way, a person piles up money and things, again and again.
The verse's second line is blunt. When a life ends, the people around say, "Take the body away, why keep it here?" All that gathering could not make anyone stay.
Kabir's word sathor, meaning a foolish hoarder, is not pointing at someone else. It is all of us, whenever we stack up more than we need.
Think of a kid who saves every candy in a drawer and never eats one. One day the candy is stale. Enjoy and share what you have while you can.
Is there something you are storing up that you could enjoy or share right now instead?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI