[salok] Bhagat Kabeer Jeeo Kae

[lowest of the low singhni]

vaheguru ji ka khalsa vaheguru ji ki fateh

ਕਬੀਰ ਊਜਲ ਪਹਿਰਹਿ ਕਾਪਰੇ ਪਾਨ ਸੁਪਾਰੀ ਖਾਹਿ ॥

kabeer oojal pahirahi kaapray paan supaaree khaahi

Kabeer, some wear gaudy robes, and chew betel leaves and betel nuts.

ਏਕਸ ਹਰਿ ਕੇ ਨਾਮ ਬਿਨੁ ਬਾਧੇ ਜਮ ਪੁਰਿ ਜਾਂਹਿ ॥੩੪॥

aykas har kay naam bin baaDhay jam pur jaaNhi

Without the Name of the One Lord, they are bound and gagged and taken to the City of Death.

“oojal” = fancy

“kaapray” = clothes

“supaaree” = betel nut

“khaahi” = eat

“aykas” = of the one

“baadhay” = tied up

“jam” = of death

“pur” = city

Betel nuts have been symbolic in many parts of the world for a variety of issues such as marriage, piety and fertility. People would chew betel nuts and betel leaves for their properties; they were sweet-smelling and freshened breath. Betel also turns your saliva red.

Apparently it's carcinogenic too, but that’s not the point :D .

Bhagat Kabeer Ji tells us of people who constantly think of “beautifying” their bodies, getting engrossed in worldly desires in the process. In Bhagat Ji’s time, they would wear clean, new clothes and use things like betel to freshen their breaths or colour their lips. Similar modern-day situations include so-called Mahapurakhs dressing in white and making themselves look all holy and good, when they might be doing bad things behind closed doors, curtains or walls. Also, when we go to the Gurdwara and dress in our best clothes or don magnificent Shastar in our Dastaars, looking like we’re the most Chardikala of all.

The point is that people might dress themselves up on the outside to look good, but the inside needs to be as good. Maharaj doesn’t tell us to dress in rags, He tells us to dress appropriately and simply. The only way to make ourselves pure from inside is by focusing on Naaaaaam. It washes our inner-dirt away like pure alpine springs run crystal-clear water down mountains cleansing everything in their path. Gurbani gives us all the answers we will ever need in life. When will we wake up and realize this? Only when the icy water drenches our burning souls.

There’s no point displaying outwardly shows of holiness if we’re black and rotting on the inside. We will gain nothing apart from an uprising of ego within us, and in the long run we’ll be screwed. Without Maharaj’s guidance and meditation we will be dragged in front of Dharamraj the Judge and God knows what might happen to us after that. God knows everything. He can see everything no matter how hard we try to hide it. Would our King really care what other people thought of us, what impression they got of us from our appearance? We should listen to Him more often.

Those Gurmukhs who follow Satguru Ji and implement Gurbani in every second of everyday of their lives have nothing to fear about Death. Dharamraj will not be able to judge them – their life accounts will be ripped up and they’ll have a siddha one-way ticket to Sachkhand, unless of course Maharaj has a job for them. Only He knows.

So don’t rely on nuts to get you to Akaal Purakh.

:

~l~

vaheguru ji ka khalsa vaheguru ji ki fateh