Explore Thiti (Kabir Ji)

Welcome to SickCast, brought to you by Sick Research Institute, illuminating every path. Vaheguru Jika Kalsa, Vaheguru Jikifake, my name is Tripp At Singh and I'm an English commentary writer on the Guru Granth Sahib project. This month we are excited to share with you the composition, Titti by Bhagat Kabir Ji. Bhagat Kabir Ji is one of the 15 revered fuggits or devoted beings whose writings are included in the Guru Granth Sahib. Out of the 15 devoted beings whose writings are included in Guru Granth Sahib, Bhagat Kabir Ji has the most recorded compositions. The title of this composition, Titti, comes from the name of the poetic genre in which the composition is written. Titti, like several other poetic genres in the Guru Granth Sahib, is based on a traditional folk method of measuring the passage of time. While other similar genres are based on the cycles like the 12 months of the year, the seasons of the year, or the four quarters of the day and night, Titti is based on the lunar fortnight, which begins with a new moon and ends with a full moon, a period of about two weeks. As such, this composition opens with a saloo and then takes us through 16 different stanzas for each day of the fortnight, beginning with the new moon and ending with the full moon. This composition is written in Raghur, a musical mode which invokes a tone of seriousness and longing. It's traditionally associated with the winter season and a longing for the warmth of union with Ikhwan Kar, the one creative and pervasive force. In that longing, there is a tone of contemplation and a sense of hope that remains, that connection with Ikhwan Kar will be experienced. Bhagat Kabirji was a radical saint of medieval South Asia. His approach was not to retain prevailing spiritual practices through simply reforming them. Rather, Bhagat Kabirji used the prevailing practices of South Asia as a sort of substrate to cultivate a different path of loving devotion to Ikhwan Kar. This path of loving devotion foregoes the belief in ritualistic and calculated disciplines. In this composition specifically, this is about foregoing the idea that certain lunar days are meant for specific ritual practices. In this stanza, on each day, Bhagat Kabirji invokes a popular traditional belief or practice and offers a radical alternative approach that brings us deeper into loving devotion to Ikhwan Kar. In the sixth stanza, Bhagat Kabirji invokes the yogic philosophy of the six chakras of the body or chakras of the body. He says, Shatakha Chakr Shahu Desatai Bin Parachay Nahi Terah Rahai Dubta Mehta Khimma Gehe Rahe Ho Karam Taram Ki Sul Na Sahe Ho Our teen's transcreation of this stanza is, delivering the message through the sixth day of the lunar month, Bhagat Kabirji states, The human mind to satiate the cravings of the body, believed to have six chakras, continues to wander in all six directions. Without the wisdom Guru, the mind cannot hind steadiness. Abandon your sense of duality and embrace the virtues of patience and forgiveness. Do not suffer by falling into the bondage of empty rituals prescribed by the religious texts. So the philosophy of the chakras has become quite well known worldwide. Generally, people have heard of this idea that by balancing the chakras in the body, one becomes more spiritually aligned. While the invocation of chakras is a relevant point of reflection in and of itself, the underlying message here goes beyond the philosophy of the chakras alone, and it extends to the many different philosophies that are present globally, which operate on this same premise that certain practices such as physical disciplines or following certain diets, align the body's chakras, meridians, or energy systems, and thus make somebody more spiritually aligned. Bhagat Kabirji's invocation of the chakras here serves two different purposes. One, it illustrates that from within the body, desires arise, and beings are pulled in multiple directions to satisfy those desires. Bhagat Kabirji is speaking to the entrapments of such systems which seek to quell or even control those internal forces from where desires arise for the purposes of spiritual growth. Bhagat Kabirji isn't outright rejecting these beliefs or saying that they are false. He is however pointing to their limitations. He's telling us to avoid becoming caught up in and distracted by these kinds of systems, which suggest that union with a kongkar can be calculated or transactional. Instead, Bhagat Kabirji urges us to follow the wisdom of the guru. Through the guru, the mind finds balance, the guru leads us away from duality, and in absence of that duality, virtues bloom within us, such as forgiveness and patience. This makes me reflect and think about how strict disciplines often lead to feelings of shame or frustration as well when one doesn't follow prescriptions perfectly or get the desired results. In light of this, the indication of forgiveness and patience feel particularly right here. These are virtues rooted in love and surrender, which arise when we step out of our egos. Instead of focusing on what the body is wanting and wrangling that body with discipline in response, Bhagat Kabirji points to the root problem of duality in the mind, which can be overcome with the wisdom of the guru through wisdom and through love. The last line of the stanza is very stark. Our team's literal translation of this line is, Do not bear the pain of ritual practices. I find this line incredibly important and worth reflecting on. Sometimes we don't realize that something that we're doing is really causing pain, especially if we've been told or witnessed it a lot or learned somewhere that it's the right thing to do. Many times people, especially in spiritual or religious contexts, are just trusting and going along with and doing whatever everyone else is doing because that seems to be the way. We might not realize that what we're doing, whatever spiritual practices we're engaged in, are causing pain. They might be causing pain if they are increasing our sense of duality and separation from Ik-Won-Klar. Oftentimes they are if they are rooted in this mindset or this approach of calculation and transaction in our relationship with Ik-Won-Klar. Are we seeking some kind of transactional benefit from our spiritual quote-unquote pursuits? Are we trying to be cunning and calculate our way towards spiritual liberation through whichever system it is we're following? Bhagat Kabir Ji is warning us against all of this because it perpetuates the pain and separation. Instead, he urges us to walk the path of loving devotion, which we learn from the Guru. All 16 stanzas of Bhagat Kabir Ji's iti are brimming with things like this, which are rich and worth reflecting on. They offer a radical perspective that may help us realize different areas in our lives that can be transformed and brought further into loving devotion of Ik-Won-Klar. I invite you to explore the literal translation and the interpretive transcreation. Allow yourself time to reflect and really soak in the messages of these stanzas as you read through the commentaries. The historical dimensions, footnotes, and word definitions as always are provided and full of rich material as well. Uaiguru Jika Kansa, Uaiguru Jikisate. Read the translations and commentaries at GuruGranSab.io. You are listening to SickCast, my sick research institute, illuminating every path.