I don’t believe in reincarnation—not in the literal sense of souls transmigrating into other bodies after death. But I believe deeply in how we are reborn in every moment—through our thoughts, attachments, habits, and memory. So when I read this powerful shabad by Bhagat Trilochan, which seems at first glance to be about literal reincarnation into snakes, pigs, prostitutes, and ghosts, I read it differently.
Here’s the shabad:
goojaree ||
Goojaree:
ਅੰਤਿ ਕਾਲਿ ਜੋ ਲਛਮੀ ਸਿਮਰੈ ਐਸੀ ਚਿੰਤਾ ਮਹਿ ਜੇ ਮਰੈ ॥
a(n)t kaal jo lachhamee simarai aaisee chi(n)taa meh je marai ||
At the very last moment, one who thinks of wealth, and dies in such thoughts,
ਸਰਪ ਜੋਨਿ ਵਲਿ ਵਲਿ ਅਉਤਰੈ ॥੧॥
sarap jon val val aautarai ||1||
shall be reincarnated over and over again, in the form of serpents. ||1||
ਅਰੀ ਬਾਈ ਗੋਬਿਦ ਨਾਮੁ ਮਤਿ ਬੀਸਰੈ ॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
aree baiee gobidh naam mat beesarai || rahaau ||
O sister, do not forget the Name of the Lord of the Universe. ||Pause||
ਅੰਤਿ ਕਾਲਿ ਜੋ ਇਸਤ੍ਰੀ ਸਿਮਰੈ ਐਸੀ ਚਿੰਤਾ ਮਹਿ ਜੇ ਮਰੈ ॥
a(n)t kaal jo isatree simarai aaisee chi(n)taa meh je marai ||
At the very last moment, he who thinks of women, and dies in such thoughts,
ਬੇਸਵਾ ਜੋਨਿ ਵਲਿ ਵਲਿ ਅਉਤਰੈ ॥੨॥
besavaa jon val val aautarai ||2||
shall be reincarnated over and over again as a prostitute. ||2||
ਅੰਤਿ ਕਾਲਿ ਜੋ ਲੜਿਕੇ ਸਿਮਰੈ ਐਸੀ ਚਿੰਤਾ ਮਹਿ ਜੇ ਮਰੈ ॥
a(n)t kaal jo laRike simarai aaisee chi(n)taa meh je marai ||
At the very last moment, one who thinks of his children, and dies in such thoughts,
ਸੂਕਰ ਜੋਨਿ ਵਲਿ ਵਲਿ ਅਉਤਰੈ ॥੩॥
sookar jon val val aautarai ||3||
shall be reincarnated over and over again as a pig. ||3||
ਅੰਤਿ ਕਾਲਿ ਜੋ ਮੰਦਰ ਸਿਮਰੈ ਐਸੀ ਚਿੰਤਾ ਮਹਿ ਜੇ ਮਰੈ ॥
a(n)t kaal jo ma(n)dhar simarai aaisee chi(n)taa meh je marai ||
At the very last moment, one who thinks of mansions, and dies in such thoughts,
ਪ੍ਰੇਤ ਜੋਨਿ ਵਲਿ ਵਲਿ ਅਉਤਰੈ ॥੪॥
pret jon val val aautarai ||4||
shall be reincarnated over and over again as a goblin. ||4||
ਅੰਤਿ ਕਾਲਿ ਨਾਰਾਇਣੁ ਸਿਮਰੈ ਐਸੀ ਚਿੰਤਾ ਮਹਿ ਜੇ ਮਰੈ ॥
a(n)t kaal naarain simarai aaisee chi(n)taa meh je marai ||
At the very last moment, one who thinks of the Lord, and dies in such thoughts,
ਬਦਤਿ ਤਿਲੋਚਨੁ ਤੇ ਨਰ ਮੁਕਤਾ ਪੀਤੰਬਰੁ ਵਾ ਕੇ ਰਿਦੈ ਬਸੈ ॥੫॥੨॥
badhat tilochan te nar mukataa peeta(n)bar vaa ke ridhai basai ||5||2||
says Trilochan, that man shall be liberated; the Lord shall abide in his heart. ||5||2||
At first, these lines may sound like definitive punishments in the afterlife; and it is possible that Bhagat Tarlochan and seekers in general believe this. But I believe this shabad is not about the next world. It is about this one. It is about what we become, again and again, based on what we repeatedly love, attach to, or obsess over.
The phrase "ant kaal"—meaning “final moment”—doesn’t have to refer to the moment of physical death. It can refer to any critical moment, any turning point, any inner reckoning. In Gurbani, time is rarely linear—it breathes. The final moment is also now. No wonder Guru Nanak says, Hum Aadmi Haan Ik Dami - I am a human of one moment. Dam is Breath. The end of this breath, the pause before a new thought, a silence in the song. This is where we are made.
What do you remember in that moment? What fills your inner atmosphere? If it is wealth, the shabad says you become like a serpent—slithering, hoarding, defensive. If it is lust, you become a prostitute—always selling, never home. If it is children, perhaps representing attachment or legacy, you become a pig—mired in caretaking, unable to rise above instinct. If it is your house or property, you become a ghost—a presence bound to a place, unable to move on.
To me, these images are not punishments. They are portraits. They show how our mental preoccupations shape us. How we live determines what we become. Again and again. Even in this life.
What all seekers should agree on is the luminous rahao - the pause line:
"Aree bai, Gobind naam mat visrai"—O sister, let essence not be forgotten.
This line is the heart of the poem. It reminds us that the only lasting company at the end of everything is the presence of the Divine—Naam, the One Being pulsing through breath, sound, and silence. If at the end of each breath there is remembrance (Saas Saas Simro Gobind), then you are already free. No more becoming this or that. You are with the One who does not change.
So for those of us who don’t take reincarnation literally, this shabad still speaks, perhaps even more sharply.
It asks:
What are you practicing to become?
What state are you dying into—right now?
And what would it mean to live in a way
that leaves nothing left to become?
For me, the answer isn’t in fearing hellish forms. It’s in cultivating a mind that returns—again and again—not to the world’s distractions, but to the Name. To the Stillness. To the One.
This is an example of how shabad contemplation (in this case literally the contemplation on ant-kaal) can get us to paths that we are confident on walking upon.