Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
The Tenth Gate at the top of my head is the fire that distills. The two channels, Ida and Pingala, are the funnels that fill and empty the golden pot.
Into that pot trickles a gentle stream, the purest, finest essence of all.
Kabir uses the picture of a workshop that makes precious drops, to show how grace fills a person from the inside.
He borrows words from the yogis of his day. Kabir, from a weaver family in Banaras, knew their teachings well. The Tenth Gate is their name for a place at the very top of the head. Ida and Pingala are their names for two channels of energy along the spine. Kabir turns these into a picture: the top of the head is like a fire, the channels are like funnels, and there is a golden pot inside.
Kanak kalas ik paa-i-aa means I found a golden pot. It stands for the body made holy by grace. Kabir is not praising the yogi system for its own sake. He takes its pictures and points them at the One. Without the One, the pot is empty.
Tis meh dhaar chu-ai at nirmal means into it trickles a very pure stream. Ras meh rasan chu-aa-i-aa means the finest essence of all essences drips in. This is not something you make by technique. It is a gift that trickles in. The body becomes a cup that receives, not a machine that produces.
Think of a garden in spring. You dig the soil and get it ready, but the rain comes from the sky. Effort gets the cup ready. Grace fills it.
Have you ever thought of your body as something capable of receiving something sacred? What would that even mean?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI