[salok] Bhagat Kabeer Jeeo Kae

[lowest of the low singhni]

vaheguru ji ka khalsa vaheguru ji ki fateh

ਕਬੀਰਾ ਤੁਹੀ ਕਬੀਰੁ ਤੂ ਤੇਰੋ ਨਾਉ ਕਬੀਰੁ ॥

kabeeraa tuhee kabeer too tayro naa-o kabeer

Kabeer, you are Kabeer; your name means great.

ਰਾਮ ਰਤਨੁ ਤਬ ਪਾਈਐ ਜਉ ਪਹਿਲੇ ਤਜਹਿ ਸਰੀਰੁ ॥੩੧॥

raam ratan tab paa-ee-ai ja-o pahilay tajeh sareer

O Lord, You are Kabeer. The Jewel of the Lord is obtained, when the mortal first gives up his body.

“kabeer” = great

“ratan” = jewel

“tajeh” = give up, leave

“sareer” = body

One of the many beauties of Gurbani is that it gives us all the answers we need in life. It’s just up to us whether to pay attention or not. In this Salok Bhagat Kabeer Ji tells us how to obtain the Jewel of Maharaj.

In the first line of this Salok, Bhagat Ji uses his name to depict the fact that Maharaj is “great” (understatement). But the way to truly realise this Greatness is letting go of our bodies. To most of us this concept is unimaginable – we’re attached to our bodies without even realising it. We have to understand that the body is not ours; that it was a gift given to us by Maharaj in order for us to survive in this world. The purpose of our body is to use it the way Maharaj wanted – remembering Him as we promised we would, and living a life according to Gurmat, through the Rehat set down by our Gurus.

Every minute of the day we forget that our body is Maharaj’s when we get carried away with our problems and issues. He has the power to give and power to take away. “Our” body was never ours to begin with. In order to have just an inkling of what it’s like to give up our bodies for Maharaj, all we have to do is think of the millions of Shaheeds in our panth such as Shaheed Bhai Mani Singh Ji.

And we complain when we get paper-cuts :D .

(Another key point is to make a true effort to see Maharaj’s light in everyone – even if they have different opinions than us, or if they treat us like dirt. We will never be able to feel/see/live/hear Maharaj properly if we can’t see Him in the people who surround us everyday.)

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~l~

vaheguru ji ka khalsa vaheguru ji ki fateh