Friday, January 16, 2026

अबहूं चेत गंवार — The Call to Awaken Before It’s Too Late



अबहूं चेत गंवार — The Call to Awaken Before It’s Too Late

“अबहूं चेत गंवार, अति बीती बहु चूक।”
— Kabir

This one line perhaps captures the entire tragedy of human learning.

It is not ignorance that destroys a civilization.
It is delay in understanding.

“अबहूं चेत गंवार” does not mean abuse.
It is a compassionate warning — a wake-up call.

👉 Even now, awaken. Before time slips away.


🔹 The Tragedy of Late Realization

Most humans spend life in this order:

  1. Childhood – Learning without understanding
  2. Youth – Arguing without wisdom
  3. Middle age – Accumulating without reflection
  4. Old age – Realizing what actually mattered

And then… it’s too late.

Kabir’s pain was not moral — it was existential.

He was saying:

You are fighting over words, identities, rituals, books…
while life itself is slipping through your fingers.


🔹 “Gawar” Here Does NOT Mean Fool

This is important.

In Indian philosophical language:

  • Gawar ≠ uneducated
  • Gawar = unaware
  • Gawar = asleep in consciousness

A highly educated person can still be a gawar
if he has not awakened to meaning.

And a simple villager can be a gyani
if he has clarity of chitta.


🔹 The Deep Connection to Man–Buddhi–Chitta

Kabir’s line perfectly completes the earlier framework:

Stage State Risk
Man Memorizing Mechanical living
Buddhi Debating Ego & arrogance
Chitta Realizing Liberation
Abehun Chet Awakening Timeless wisdom

“अबहूं चेत” is the moment of transition
—from Buddhi to Chitta.

It is the moment you stop asking:

“Who is right?”

And start asking:

“What is true for my life?”


🔹 Why This Line Is More Relevant Today Than Ever

We live in an age of:

  • Endless opinions
  • Infinite content
  • Zero inner silence

Everyone is reacting.
Very few are reflecting.

Kabir would probably say today:

Tum padh likh gaye ho,
par samajhne ka samay kab loge?

Because:

  • Knowledge has increased
  • Wisdom has declined
  • Certainty has grown
  • Understanding has shrunk

🔹 The Final Message

“अबहूं चेत गंवार” is not a criticism.
It is compassion in its rawest form.

It says:

You still have time.
Drop rigidity.
Drop ego.
Drop borrowed beliefs.
Look inward.
Understand before it’s too late.

This is also the essence of what I wrote earlier:

👉 Don’t become a Lakeer ka Fakeer
https://open.substack.com/pub/akshat08/p/dont-become-a-lakeer-ka-fakeer-reading?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=124980

Because the moment you stop questioning meaning
and start worshipping words —
awakening ends.


🔹 Closing Thought

शब्द रास्ता दिखाते हैं, मंज़िल नहीं।
समझ यात्रा है, निष्कर्ष नहीं।
और चेतना — वही असली शिक्षा है।

Abehun chet, mitra.
Abhi bhi samay hai.



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