Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
The Sovereign Lord's harp plays a melody no one strikes.
By His kind glance, we are lovingly tuned to its sound.
This is the pause line, the Rahao, the center of the shabad. It says the One's music plays on its own, and His kind glance tunes us in to hear it.
Raajaa raam anhad kinguree baajai means the harp of the Sovereign Lord plays the anhad melody. Anhad means unstruck. It is music that plays without anyone plucking a string or hitting a drum. It is not caused by anything. It comes before every other sound.
Kabir loved this idea. He came from a family of weavers in Banaras, a city where he heard many teachers, including Sufi teachers. People who go very deep in quiet prayer sometimes describe a gentle hum under everything, like the background sound of the world. Kabir says this is the One's harp playing.
Jaa kee disat naad liv laagai means by His glance, we are lovingly tuned to the naad, the sound. Naad means that deep sound running through all things. What tunes us to it is not a special body technique. It is the One's glance of grace. The One makes the first move. Kabir and the Gurus agree on this: grace comes first.
Think of a radio. The station is always playing. You only hear it once the dial is turned to the right spot.
Have you ever noticed a kind of quiet or stillness beneath all the noise of the world? What does it feel like to pay attention to it?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI