Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa
When there was only the Master - who was called bound, and who called free?
When there was only the Unfathomable, the Infinite - who fell into any hell? Who rose to any heaven?
When He rested beyond attributes, in perfect poise - where was mind, where was matter? Where were the great cosmic opposites?
When He held His own Light within Himself - who was fearless, and who was afraid? He performs in His own plays - the Unfathomable, the Infinite.
Even being stuck and being free, even heaven and hell, belong to the play.
The questions now reach the biggest ideas in religion itself. Tab bandh mukat kaho kis ka-o ganee — then who was called bound, and who free? Bandh means being tied up, stuck. Mukat means set free. Whole ways of life in India turn around this pair. Heaven and hell come next, the two places that shape billions of choices. Before the play began, there was neither.
At the deepest level, no one was ever tied up. So freedom belongs to the play too. The tradition holds this idea with care. Seeking freedom is the noblest story in the play. And the Player was never in jail.
Tab siv sakat kahhu kit thaa-ay — then where were Shiva and Shakti? In Indian thought they are the first great pair: awareness and energy, mind and matter. Before the curtain rose, even they were not two.
Fear gets the same answer it got in Ashtapadee 17. Tab kavan nidar kavan kat darai — who was fearless, and who afraid? Fear and courage both need an edge to stand at, and there was no edge.
The last line keeps us from feeling dizzy. Aapan chalit aap karnaihaar — He Himself performs His own plays. The drama is His, chosen and enjoyed. It is not a mistake to escape. Think of a child building a sandcastle just for the joy of building it.
If no one was ever truly trapped at the deepest level, what is really happening when someone becomes free?
Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI