Analysis
ਐਸੇ ਮਰਨੇ ਜੋ ਮਰੈ ਬਹੁਰਿ ਨ ਮਰਨਾ ਹੋਇ ॥੨੯॥
aisae maranae jo marai bahur n maranaa hoe ||29||
Let those who die, die such a death, that they shall never have to die again. ||29||
Kabir is saying – let this death be the last death. Let the soul never have to return again and again. Once the body is dead, the soul returns again and again in a different body – it is the soul that yearns to be done with the constant coming and going. In raag Vadahans, Guru Nanak says, ਕਾਂਇਆ ਹੰਸ ਥੀਆ ਵੇਛੋੜਾ ਜਾਂ ਦਿਨ ਪੁੰਨੇ ਮੇਰੀ ਮਾਏ ॥ kaaneiaa hans thheeaa vaeshhorraa jaan dhin punnae maeree maaeae || The body and the swan-soul are separated, when one's days are past and done, O my mother. And is not the body which reincarnates but the soul that reincarnates.
Guru Nanak Dev is saying, as Kabeer is saying, that reincarnation is difficult. It is not an automatic thing,
ਕਬੀਰ ਮਾਨਸ ਜਨਮੁ ਦੁਲੰਭੁ ਹੈ ਹੋਇ ਨ ਬਾਰੈ ਬਾਰ ॥
kabeer maanas janam dhulanbh hai hoe n baarai baar ||
Kabeer, it is so difficult to obtain this human body; it does not just come over and over again.
The soul must find another life in a body that will have been destined in such a way that the soul can continue its work – the work of finding a perfect union with the Divine. In the same way, Guru Nanak says ਜੇਹਾ ਲਿਖਿਆ ਤੇਹਾ ਪਾਇਆ ਜੇਹਾ ਪੁਰਬਿ ਕਮਾਇਆ ॥ jaehaa likhiaa thaehaa paaeiaa jaehaa purab kamaaeiaa || As is one's pre-ordained Destiny, so does one receive, according to one's past actions.
Kabir continues, The body is like the fruit which falls from the branch – and then it can not be reattached.
ਜਿਉ ਬਨ ਫਲ ਪਾਕੇ ਭੁਇ ਗਿਰਹਿ ਬਹੁਰਿ ਨ ਲਾਗਹਿ ਡਾਰ ॥੩੦॥
jio ban fal paakae bhue girehi bahur n laagehi ddaar ||30||
It is like the ripe fruit on the tree; when it falls to the ground, it cannot be re-attached to the branch. ||30||
The irony here is that at the moment the fruit ripens it falls, the blush of life is the first hint of the death which soon follows.
This is the fate that is certain. Guru Nanak says, everyone has to pass this way. ਸਾਹਿਬੁ ਸਿਮਰਹੁ ਮੇਰੇ ਭਾਈਹੋ ਸਭਨਾ ਏਹੁ ਪਇਆਣਾ ॥
saahib simarahu maerae bhaaeeho sabhanaa eaehu paeiaanaa || Meditate in remembrance on the Lord and Master, O my Siblings of Destiny; everyone has to pass this way.
So Kabir says something very meaningful against the backdrop of Guru Nanak’s reality. More than once we have a glimpse of the Divine – the Jewel of the Lord. When we first die in the body, that is the first time we have been given His Darshan, however, brief.
ਰਾਮ ਰਤਨੁ ਤਬ ਪਾਈਐ ਜਉ ਪਹਿਲੇ ਤਜਹਿ ਸਰੀਰੁ ॥੩੧॥
raam rathan thab paaeeai jo pehilae thajehi sareer ||31||
O Lord, You are Kabeer. The Jewel of the Lord is obtained, when the mortal first gives up his body. ||31||
And each time we come back we forget the experience of His darshan. Each time we have to experience once again the sense of separation. And live again, and die again, in futility. And why? Because of our pride. And this haumei is defined by Sant Kabeer– it is a pride that is stubborn. It refuses to give up its sense of being important, being correct. And Kabir describes this as a struggle in stubborn pride because it gives us nothing but frustration, sorrow and pain.
Next we are told that, once we were given darshan of the holy – and yet we forget that experience of the divine and sink back into the fate of a slave – for we are slaves to our false pride, and faulty understanding of the source of Truth.
ਕਬੀਰ ਝੰਖੁ ਨ ਝੰਖੀਐ ਤੁਮਰੋ ਕਹਿਓ ਨ ਹੋਇ ॥
kabeer jhankh n jhankheeai thumaro kehiou n hoe ||
Kabeer, do not struggle in stubborn pride; nothing happens just because you say so.
The saloka again recalls the words of Guru Nanak in raag Vadahans ਏਥੈ ਧੰਧਾ ਕੂੜਾ ਚਾਰਿ ਦਿਹਾ ਆਗੈ ਸਰਪਰ ਜਾਣਾ ॥ eaethhai dhhandhhaa koorraa chaar dhihaa aagai sarapar jaanaa || These false entanglements last for only a few days; then, one must surely move on to the world hereafter.
ਆਗੈ ਸਰਪਰ ਜਾਣਾ ਜਿਉ ਮਿਹਮਾਣਾ ਕਾਹੇ ਗਾਰਬੁ ਕੀਜੈ ॥
aagai sarapar jaanaa jio mihamaanaa kaahae gaarab keejai ||
He must surely move on to the world hereafter, like a guest; so why does he indulge in ego?
We never question who is in charge because we cling to the notion that we are in charge, and deserve to be proud of what we have gained and what we have accomplished.
But we delude ourselves. Who is really in charge? Kabeer says,
ਕਰਮ ਕਰੀਮ ਜੁ ਕਰਿ ਰਹੇ ਮੇਟਿ ਨ ਸਾਕੈ ਕੋਇ ॥੩੨॥
karam kareem j kar rehae maett n saakai koe ||32||
No one can erase the actions of the Merciful Lord. ||32||
And Guru Nanak has reinforced this idea ਧੰਨੁ ਸਿਰੰਦਾ ਸਚਾ ਪਾਤਿਸਾਹੁ ਜਿਨਿ ਜਗੁ ਧੰਧੈ ਲਾਇਆ ॥੧॥ dhhann sirandhaa sachaa paathisaahu jin jag dhhandhhai laaeiaa ||1|| Blessed is the Creator, the True King, who has linked the whole world to its tasks. ||1||
No one can act in the pretense that the workings of life and death are controlled by anyone other than the Creator – and yet this Creator is merciful. No one can erase the actions of the Merciful Lord. His work cannot be undone, and thinking that we can substitute our intellect and ambitions for our Destiny is a mistake.
So what awaits us and what does not await us? If we abide in false ego we are destroyed by contact with the Truth becaise it is so powerful. Only the one who can give up the false ego can stand up under the test of truth and survive it.
ਕਬੀਰ ਕਸਉਟੀ ਰਾਮ ਕੀ ਝੂਠਾ ਟਿਕੈ ਨ ਕੋਇ ॥
kabeer kasouttee raam kee jhoothaa ttikai n koe ||
Kabeer, no one who is false can withstand the Touchstone of the Lord.
However if we do not abide in ego, and we allow the ego to die, then we can withstand the experience of knowing the Truth of the Divine.
ਰਾਮ ਕਸਉਟੀ ਸੋ ਸਹੈ ਜੋ ਮਰਿ ਜੀਵਾ ਹੋਇ ॥੩੩॥
raam kasouttee so sehai jo mar jeevaa hoe ||33||
He alone can pass the test of the Lord's Touchstone, who remains dead while yet alive. ||33||
Some stall, and prefer to remain in trapped in the struggle that the stubborn ego has created, and they remain entrenched in the trappings of importance; and they remain drugged by the addictive effects of worldly. For them, their consciousness is drowning because of their attachment to a false sense of self. In the next saloka, the gaudy robes refer to our sense of importance. The betel nut refers to the treacherous way in which our ego stimulates a sense of self-importance. We chew on the betel leaves, we cannot get enough stimulation. We are compulsive in our love of the betel nut. Our thinking is compulsive, and addictive.
ਕਬੀਰ ਊਜਲ ਪਹਿਰਹਿ ਕਾਪਰੇ ਪਾਨ ਸੁਪਾਰੀ ਖਾਹਿ ॥
kabeer oojal pehirehi kaaparae paan supaaree khaahi ||
Kabeer, some wear gaudy robes, and chew betel leaves and betel nuts.
Betel nuts or areca are a stimulant which is addictive. Betel nuts also play an important part in ceremonies connected with offerings to priests, people of high standing. The betel or areca is addictive the way our attachment to our sense of self is addictive. The stimulant effects of self-importance are so addictive that it clouds our ability to step away from samsara and connect with a greater truth than the truth that we perceive with our intellect.
Without the greater truth we are carried off like slaves captured in war – a war which is a struggle between our foolish nature and our one time consciousness of the Divine – the first darshan that we continually forget with each coming, each going.
ਏਕਸ ਹਰਿ ਕੇ ਨਾਮ ਬਿਨੁ ਬਾਧੇ ਜਮ ਪੁਰਿ ਜਾਂਹਿ ॥੩੪॥
eaekas har kae naam bin baadhhae jam pur jaanhi ||34||
Without the Name of the One Lord, they are bound and gagged and taken to the City of Death. ||34||
In the remaining salokas Kabir expands his thinking about pride of ego. In giving up the ego, detaching from our false sense of identity, and remaining dead while alive, we are told to become “light” Why is this important? It is important because our soul’s life is old – we have been here many times and carry the ballast of past deeds with us. Our life is like an old boat.
ਕਬੀਰ ਬੇੜਾ ਜਰਜਰਾ ਫੂਟੇ ਛੇਂਕ ਹਜਾਰ ॥
kabeer baerraa jarajaraa foottae shhaenak hajaar ||
Kabeer, the boat is old, and it has thousands of holes.
The boat is old, and it is full of holes, and it will sink unless we throw off the weight of the past. And if we do not do that we will be drowned by the weight we carry, coming from layer after layer of deeds driven by pride, greed, lust, anger and attachment. We must become light. We must cast off the ballast created by the illusions of our false ego and realize the truth of the Satguru because:
ਹਰੂਏ ਹਰੂਏ ਤਿਰਿ ਗਏ ਡੂਬੇ ਜਿਨ ਸਿਰ ਭਾਰ ॥੩੫॥
harooeae harooeae thir geae ddoobae jin sir bhaar ||35||
Those who are light get across, while those who carry the weight of their sins on their heads are drowned. ||35||
Kabir goes on to teach us that everything that is part of our material selves is transitory and vulnerable to destruction. It is destroyed. Our bones turn to charcoal; our hair burns like straw.
ਕਬੀਰ ਹਾਡ ਜਰੇ ਜਿਉ ਲਾਕਰੀ ਕੇਸ ਜਰੇ ਜਿਉ ਘਾਸੁ ॥
kabeer haadd jarae jio laakaree kaes jarae jio ghaas ||
Kabeer, the bones burn like wood, and the hair burns like straw
These substances wood and straw give off intense heat, but the heat, the energy of material life, is short lived. We die. And Kabir is saddened by this awareness -- by the idea that the fire is intense, and the death is quick, and the destruction is final and complete.
ਇਹੁ ਜਗੁ ਜਰਤਾ ਦੇਖਿ ਕੈ ਭਇਓ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਉਦਾਸੁ ॥੩੬॥
eihu jag jarathaa dhaekh kai bhaeiou kabeer oudhaas ||36||
Seeing the world burning like this, Kabeer has become sad. ||36||
But we should remember that we are nothing more than those bones wrapped in skin. This is nothing to celebrate.
ਕਬੀਰ ਗਰਬੁ ਨ ਕੀਜੀਐ ਚਾਮ ਲਪੇਟੇ ਹਾਡ ॥
kabeer garab n keejeeai chaam lapaettae haadd ||
Kabeer, do not be so proud of your bones wrapped up in skin.
That is all we are – and in ignorance we are tempted to be proud of what is nothing more than a temporary state. We are proud of all the trappings horses and tents, all the grandeur, both real and imagined, and we forget where we are headed. Kabir says give up this illusory pride.
ਹੈਵਰ ਊਪਰਿ ਛਤ੍ਰ ਤਰ ਤੇ ਫੁਨਿ ਧਰਨੀ ਗਾਡ ॥੩੭॥
haivar oopar shhathr thar thae fun dhharanee gaadd ||37||
Those who were on their horses and under their canopies, those who obtained mansions, all were eventually buried under the ground.
Guru Nanak in sriRaag also says ਜੋ ਦੀਸੈ ਸੋ ਚਲਸੀ ਕੂੜਾ ਮੋਹੁ ਨ ਵੇਖੁ ॥ jo dheesai so chalasee koorraa mohu n vaekh || Whatever is seen shall pass away. So do not be attached to this false show.
Kabir continues, give up your prideful self because you are headed for the cemetery.
ਕਬੀਰ ਗਰਬੁ ਨ ਕੀਜੀਐ ਊਚਾ ਦੇਖਿ ਅਵਾਸੁ ॥
kabeer garab n keejeeai oochaa dhaekh avaas ||
Kabeer, do not be so proud of your tall mansions.
ਆਜੁ ਕਾਲ੍ਹ੍ਹਿ ਭੁਇ ਲੇਟਣਾ ਊਪਰਿ ਜਾਮੈ ਘਾਸੁ ॥੩੮॥
aaj kaalih bhue laettanaa oopar jaamai ghaas ||38||
Today or tomorrow, you shall lie beneath the ground, and the grass shall grow above you. ||38||
And then Kabir says – do not laugh at the poor. They may seem to have achieved so much less, obtained so little, have so little to show for their lives or to be proud of.
ਕਬੀਰ ਗਰਬੁ ਨ ਕੀਜੀਐ ਰੰਕੁ ਨ ਹਸੀਐ ਕੋਇ ॥
kabeer garab n keejeeai rank n haseeai koe ||
Kabeer, do not be so proud, and do not laugh at the poor.
In other words, do not ridicule those who seem less fortunate. Why? Because your, our, my boat (body, life) is “out at sea” where we can be certain of nothing. We are, when we are alive in our bodies and in our ego, traveling on an uncertain, sometimes treacherous and turbulent ocean. Life is uncertain. Only one thing is certain. We do not know what will happen. Only the Creator knows with certainty what will become of us in the end.
ਅਜਹੁ ਸੁ ਨਾਉ ਸਮੁੰਦ੍ਰ ਮਹਿ ਕਿਆ ਜਾਨਉ ਕਿਆ ਹੋਇ ॥੩੯॥
ajahu s naao samundhr mehi kiaa jaano kiaa hoe ||39||
Your boat is still out at sea; who knows what will happen? ||39||
So do not be proud, so trusting of the world that as you perceive it an with the sense you make of it. Do not be so proud of worldly beauty and material achievements.
ਕਬੀਰ ਗਰਬੁ ਨ ਕੀਜੀਐ ਦੇਹੀ ਦੇਖਿ ਸੁਰੰਗ ॥
kabeer garab n keejeeai dhaehee dhaekh surang ||
Kabeer, do not be so proud, looking at your beautiful body
Because you will have to die and leave all behind, like a snake shedding its skin. And you will have to return – also, like a snake shedding its skin. This is the lesson
ਆਜੁ ਕਾਲ੍ਹ੍ਹਿ ਤਜਿ ਜਾਹੁਗੇ ਜਿਉ ਕਾਂਚੁਰੀ ਭੁਯੰਗ ॥੪੦॥
aaj kaalih thaj jaahugae jio kaanchuree bhuyang ||40||
Today or tomorrow, you will have to leave it behind, like the snake shedding its skin.
And Guru Nanak repeats in raag Vadahans. ਸਾਹਿਬੁ ਸਿਮਰਿਹੁ ਮੇਰੇ ਭਾਈਹੋ ਸਭਨਾ ਏਹੁ ਪਇਆਣਾ ॥੨॥ saahib simarihu maerae bhaaeeho sabhanaa eaehu paeiaanaa ||2|| Meditate in remembrance on the Lord and Master, O my Siblings of Destiny; everyone has to pass this way. ||2||
Let the ego die. Obtain the Jewel. And you will never die again.
