A DOHA OF KABIR AND DOCTRINE OF KARMA

                                  

                           ( Image by using AI )

A DOHA OF KABIR AND DOCTRINE OF KARMA 

"Kabira teri jhonpri galkatiyan ke paas,

Karni sab ne bharni hai, tu kyon bhayo udaas"..Kabir

(Kabir, your humble hut is 

situated next to the slaughterhouse lane.

 Every being must bear 

the fruit of its own deed. 

Why then have you become sad?)

"Jhonpri is this perishable body, a thatched hut. _Galkatiyan_ is the lane where throats are cut, the butcher's quarter. The image is that the saint lives in the midst of everyday violence. His heart, being compassionate, sinks.

Kabir corrects himself with Vedanta.

Full Interpretation in the Light of Bhagavad Gita and Upanishads 

 Gita - The Law of Karni or Karma 

Karni sab ne bharni hai is the most direct folk translation of the Gita's Doctrine of Karma.

In Gita Chapter 4, Krishna says , "Gahana karmano gatih"  or profound is the working of action. No Karma is ever lost. In Chapter 3, He says, "Karmana badhyate jantuh" or  the jiva is bound by its own Karma.

The butcher or  the galkatiyan is performing his Karma.  Gita Chapter 18, Verse 25 defines it: ,"Anubandham kshayam himsam anapekshya cha paurusham, mohad arabhyate karma yat tat tamasam uchyate" or  that action which is begun out of delusion, without regard to consequence, loss or injury to others, is Tamasic. Such action inevitably creates its own fruit. The butcher will bear it. The eater will bear his. This is not a curse, it is a law like gravity. Sri Krishna says in Chapter 9, ,"Aham hi sarva yajnanam bhokta cha prabhur eva cha" or  I am the enjoyer and the Lord of all sacrifices, meaning I am the dispenser of the fruits of Karma.

Therefore, Kabir says, why intervene mentally? You are not the dispenser. You are a witness. The law is automatic. The moment you take over the role of judge, you create new Karma for yourself ;  karma of hatred, of anger, of depression.

This is what  Sri Krishna warns Arjuna about in Chapter 2, Verse 62-63. From brooding on objects comes attachment, from attachment anger, from anger delusion, from delusion loss of memory and destruction of intelligence.

Upanishads - Why Be Sad?

"Tu kyon bhayo udaas"  is the central question of the Upanishads.

Why does the sage become sad living next to the butcher? Because of  Dvaita-buddhi, the intellect of duality. He thinks ,"I am pure, the butcher is impure. I am compassionate, he is cruel. This duality itself is the cause of  "Shoka".

The Katha Upanishad (1.2.20) says: "Anor aniyan mahato mahiyan, atmasya jantor nihito guhayam, tam akratuh pashyati vita shoko" or the Self, smaller than the small and greater than the great, is seated in the heart of every creature. He who is free from desire sees it and becomes free from sorrow.

The Isha Upanishad says ,"Yasmin sarvani bhutani atmaiva bhud vijanatah, tatra ko mohah kah shokah ekatvam anupashyatah" or  when a man sees all beings in his own Self, and his Self in all beings, what delusion and what sorrow can there be for him who sees oneness?

Kabir's sadness was because he was seeing only the bodies ; the butcher's body and the animal's body. The Upanishad says see the Atman. The Atman in the butcher is also Brahman, but covered by Avidya and  Tamas. Your sorrow will not remove that covering. Only his own knowledge can.

So the instruction is ," do not drown in  "Karuna"  that becomes "Vishada" . Let compassion remain as detached witness.

Guard Your Own Hut - The Practical Vedanta:

Your hut is next to the Galkatiyan. This is the most realistic description of human life given by the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad ,"Anitya and  Mrityu surround us. Death is the ultimate butcher, sitting next to every hut.

Given this, what should you do? The Upanishads and Gita give the same answer: "Atmameva atmanam uddhara" or lift yourself by yourself (Gita 6.5).

You cannot close the world's slaughterhouses. You can ensure no slaughter of truth, compassion and purity happens inside your own hut. Your  Karni is your responsibility. Don't make it Tamsic  . Don't perform Karma with violence and  with attachment  . As the Shvetashvatara Upanishad says, the swan lives in water but does not get wet. So live next to the Galkatiyan , but keep your hut clean with  Nama Japa  as Kabir did.

 The butcher bears his Karni. You bear yours. Why be sad? 

( Avtar Mota )

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