The Songs of Kabir - 100 Poems Of Kabirdas
1
II. 13. mo ko kahân dhûnro bande
O SERVANT, where dost thou seek Me?
Lo! I am beside thee.
I am neither in temple nor in mosque: I am neither in Kaaba
nor in Kailash:
Neither am I in rites and ceremonies, nor
in Yoga and renunciation.
If thou art a true seeker, thou
shalt at once see Me: thou shalt meet Me in a moment of time.
Kabîr says, "O Sadhu! God is the breath of all breath."
2
II. 16. Santan jât na pûcho nirguniyân
It is needless to ask of a saint the caste to which he belongs;
For the priest, the warrior. the tradesman, and all the thirty-six
castes, alike are seeking for God.
It is but folly to ask
what the caste of a saint may be;
The barber has sought God,
the washerwoman, and the carpenter--
Even Raidas was a seeker
after God.
The Rishi Swapacha was a tanner by caste.
Hindus
and Moslems alike have achieved that End, where remains no mark
of distinction.
3
II. 57. sâdho bhâî, jîval hî karo âs'â
O FRIEND! hope for Him whilst you live, know whilst you live,
understand whilst you live: for in life deliverance abides.
If your bonds be not broken whilst living, what hope of deliverance
in death?
It is but an empty dream, that the soul shall
have union with Him because it has passed from the body:
If He is found now, He is found then,
If not, we do but go
to dwell in the City of Death.
If you have union now, you
shall have it hereafter.
Bathe in the truth, know the true
Guru, have faith in the true Name!
Kabîr says: "It is
the Spirit of the quest which helps; I am the slave of this
Spirit of the quest."
4
II. 58. bâgo nâ jâ re nâ jâ
Do not go to the garden of flowers!
O Friend! go not there;
In your body is the garden of flowers.
Take your seat on
the thousand petals of the lotus, and there gaze on the Infinite
Beauty.
5
II. 63. avadhû, mâyâ tajî na jây
TELL me, Brother, how can I renounce Maya?
When I gave
up the tying of ribbons, still I tied my garment about me:
When I gave up tying my garment, still I covered my body in
its folds.
So, when I give up passion, I see that anger remains;
And when I renounce anger, greed is with me still;
And when
greed is vanquished, pride and vainglory remain;
When the
mind is detached and casts Maya away, still it clings to the
letter.
Kabîr says, "Listen to me, dear Sadhu! the
true path is rarely found."
6
II. 83. candâ jhalkai yahi ghat mâhîn
THE moon shines in my body, but my blind eyes cannot see
it:
The moon is within me, and so is the sun.
The unstruck
drum of Eternity is sounded within me; but my deaf ears cannot
hear it.
So long as man clamours for the I and the Mine,
his works are as naught:
When all love of the I and the Mine
is dead, then the work of the Lord is done.
For work has
no other aim than the getting of knowledge:
When that comes,
then work is put away.
The flower blooms for the fruit: when
the fruit comes, the flower withers.
The musk is in
the deer, but it seeks it not within itself: it wanders in quest
of grass.
7
II. 85. Sâdho, Brahm alakh lakhâyâ
WHEN He Himself reveals Himself, Brahma brings into manifestation
That which can never be seen.
As the seed is in the plant,
as the shade is in the tree, as the void is in the sky, as infinite
forms are in the void--
So from beyond the Infinite, the
Infinite comes; and from the Infinite the finite extends.
The creature is in Brahma, and Brahma is in the creature: they
are ever distinct, yet ever united.
He Himself is the tree,
the seed, and the germ.
He Himself is the flower, the
fruit, and the shade.
He Himself is the sun, the light, and
the lighted.
He Himself is Brahma, creature, and Maya.
He Himself is the manifold form, the infinite space;
He is
the breath, the word, and the meaning.
He Himself is the
limit and the limitless: and beyond both the limited and the
limitless is He, the Pure Being.
He is the Immanent Mind
in Brahma and in the creature.
The Supreme Soul is seen within
the soul,
The Point is seen within the Supreme Soul,
And
within the Point, the reflection is seen again.
Kabîr
is blest because he has this supreme vision!
8
II. 101. is ghat antar bâg bagîce
WITHIN this earthen vessel are bowers and groves, and within
it is the Creator:
Within this vessel are the seven oceans
and the unnumbered stars.
The touchstone and the jewel-appraiser
are within;
And within this vessel the Eternal soundeth,
and the spring wells up.
Kabîr says: "Listen tome,
my Friend! My beloved Lord is within."
9
II. 104. aisâ lo nahîn taisâ lo
O HOW may I ever express that secret word?
O how can I
say He is not like this, and He is like that?
If I
say that He is within me, the universe is ashamed:
If I say
that He is without me, it is falsehood.
He makes the inner
and the outer worlds to be indivisibly one;
The conscious
and the unconscious, both are His footstools.
He is neither
manifest nor hidden, He is neither revealed nor unrevealed:
There are no words to tell that which He is.
10
II. 121. tohi mori lagan lagâye re phakîr wâ
To Thee Thou hast drawn my love, O Fakir!
I was sleeping
in my own chamber, and Thou didst awaken me; striking me with
Thy voice, O Fakir!
I was drowning in the deeps of the ocean
of this world, and Thou didst save me: upholding me with Thine
arm, O Fakir!
Only one word and no second--and Thou hast
made me tear off all my bonds, O Fakir!
Kabîr says,
"Thou hast united Thy heart to my heart, O Fakir!"
11
II. 131. nis' din khelat rahî sakhiyân sang
I PLAYED day and night with my comrades, and now I am greatly
afraid.
So high is my Lord's palace, my heart trembles to
mount its stairs: yet I must not be shy, if I would enjoy His
love.
My heart must cleave to my Lover; I must withdraw my
veil, and meet Him with all my body:
Mine eyes must perform
the ceremony of the lamps of love.
Kabîr says: "Listen
to me, friend: he understands who loves. If you feel not love's
longing for your Beloved One, it is vain to adorn your body,
vain to put unguent on your eyelids."
12
III. 24. hamsâ, kaho purâtan vât
TELL me, O Swan, your ancient tale.
From what land do
you come, O Swan? to what shore will you fly?
Where would
you take your rest, O Swan, and what do you seek?
Even this
morning, O Swan, awake, arise, follow me!
There is a land
where no doubt nor sorrow have rule: where the terror of Death
is no more.
There the woods of spring are a-bloom, and the
fragrant scent "He is I" is borne on the wind:
There the
bee of the heart is deeply immersed, and desires no other joy.
13
III. 37. angadhiyâ devâ
O LORD Increate, who will serve Thee?
Every votary offers
his worship to the God of his own creation: each day he receives
service--
None seek Him, the Perfect: Brahma, the Indivisible
Lord.
They believe in ten Avatars; but no Avatar can be the
Infinite Spirit, for he suffers the results of his deeds:
The Supreme One must be other than this.
The Yogi, the Sanyasi,
the Ascetics, are disputing one with another:
Kabîr
says, "O brother! he who has seen that radiance of love, he
is saved."
14
III. 56. dariyâ kî lahar dariyâo hai jî
THE river and its waves are one
surf: where is the difference
between the river and its waves?
When the wave rises, it
is the water; and when it falls, it is the same water again.
Tell me, Sir, where is the distinction?
Because it has been
named as wave, shall it no longer be considered as water?
Within the Supreme Brahma, the worlds are being told like beads:
Look upon that rosary with the eyes of wisdom.
15
III. 57. jânh khelat vasant riturâj
WHERE Spring, the lord of the seasons, reigneth, there the
Unstruck Music sounds of itself,
There the streams of light
flow in all directions;
Few are the men who can cross to
that shore!
There, where millions of Krishnas stand with
hands folded,
Where millions of Vishnus bow their heads,
Where millions of Brahmâs are reading the Vedas,
Where millions
of Shivas are lost in contemplation,
Where millions of Indras
dwell in the sky,
Where the demi-gods and the munis are unnumbered,
Where millions of Saraswatis, Goddess of Music, play on the
vina
There is my Lord self-revealed: and the scent of sandal
and flowers dwells in those deeps.
16
III. 59. jânh, cet acet khambh dôû
BETWEEN the poles of the conscious and the unconscious, there
has the mind made a swing:
Thereon hang all beings and all
worlds, and that swing never ceases its sway.
Millions of
beings are there: the sun and the moon in their courses are
there:
Millions of ages pass, and the swing goes on.
All
swing! the sky and the earth and the air and the water; and
the Lord Himself taking form:
And the sight of this has made
Kabîr a servant.
17
III. 61. grah candra tapan jot varat hai
THE light of the sun, the moon, and the stars shines bright:
The melody of love swells forth, and the rhythm of love's detachment
beats the time.
Day and night, the chorus of music fills
the heavens; and Kabîr says
"My Beloved One gleams
like the lightning flash in the sky."
Do you know how the
moments perform their adoration?
Waving its row of lamps,
the universe sings in worship day and night,
There are the
hidden banner and the secret canopy:
There the sound of the
unseen bells is heard.
Kabîr says: "There adoration
never ceases; there the Lord of the Universe sitteth on His
throne."
The whole world does its works and commits
its errors: but few are the lovers who know the Beloved.
The devout seeker is he who mingles in his heart the double
currents of love and detachment, like the mingling of the streams
of Ganges and Jumna;
In his heart the sacred water flows
day and night; and thus the round of births and deaths is brought
to an end.
Behold what wonderful rest is in the Supreme Spirit!
and he enjoys it, who makes himself meet for it.
Held by
the cords of love, the swing of the Ocean of Joy sways to and
fro; and a mighty sound breaks forth in song.
See what a
lotus blooms there without water! and Kabîr says
"My
heart's bee drinks its nectar."
What a wonderful lotus
it is, that blooms at the heart of the spinning wheel of the
universe! Only a few pure souls know of its true delight.
Music is all around it, and there the heart partakes of the
joy of the Infinite Sea.
Kabîr says: "Dive thou into
that Ocean of sweetness: thus let all errors of life and of
death flee away."
Behold how the thirst of the five senses
is quenched there! and the three forms of misery are no more!
Kabîr says: "It is the sport of the Unattainable One:
look within, and behold how the moon-beams of that Hidden One
shine in you."
There falls the rhythmic beat of life and
death:
Rapture wells forth, and all space is radiant
with light.
There the Unstruck Music is sounded; it is the
music of the love of the three worlds.
There millions of
lamps of sun and of moon are burning;
There the drum beats,
and the lover swings in play.
There love-songs resound, and
light rains in showers; and the worshipper is entranced in the
taste of the heavenly nectar.
Look upon life and death; there
is no separation between them,
The right hand and the left
hand are one and the same.
Kabîr says: "There the wise
man is speechless; for this truth may never be found in Vadas
or in books."
I have had my Seat on the Self-poised One,
I have drunk of the Cup of the Ineffable,
1 have found the
Key of the Mystery,
I have reached the Root of Union.
Travelling by no track, I have come to the Sorrowless Land:
very easily has the mercy of the great Lord come upon me.
They have sung of Him as infinite and unattainable: but I in
my meditations have seen Him without sight.
That is indeed
the sorrowless land, and none know the path that leads there:
Only he who is on that path has surely transcended all sorrow.
Wonderful is that land of rest, to which no merit can win;
It is the wise who has seen it, it is the wise who has sung
of it.
This is the Ultimate Word: but can any express its
marvellous savour?
He who has savoured it once, he
knows what joy it can give.
Kabîr says: "Knowing it,
the ignorant man becomes wise, and the wise man becomes speechless
and silent,
The worshipper is utterly inebriated,
His
wisdom and his detachment are made perfect;
He drinks from
the cup of the inbreathings and the outbreathings of love."
There the whole sky is filled with sound, and there that music
is made without fingers and without strings;
There the game
of pleasure and pain does not cease.
Kabîr says: "If
you merge your life in the Ocean of Life, you will find your
life in the Supreme Land of Bliss."
What a frenzy of
ecstasy there is in every hour! and the worshipper is
pressing out and drinking the essence of the hours: he lives
in the life of Brahma.
I speak truth, for I have accepted
truth in life; I am now attached to truth, I have swept all
tinsel away.
Kabîr says: "Thus is the worshipper set
free from fear; thus have all errors of life and of death left
him."
There the sky is filled with music:
There it rains
nectar:
There the harp-strings jingle, and there the drums
beat.
What a secret splendour is there, in the mansion of
the sky!
There no mention is made of the rising and the setting
of the sun;
In the ocean of manifestation, which is the light
of love, day and night are felt to be one.
Joy for
ever, no sorrow,--no struggle!
There have I seen joy filled
to the brim, perfection of joy;
No place for error is there.
Kabîr says: "There have I witnessed the sport of One Bliss!"
I have known in my body the sport of the universe: I have escaped
from the error of this world..
The inward and the outward
are become as one sky, the Infinite and the finite are united:
I am drunken with the sight of this All!
This Light of Thine
fulfils the universe: the lamp of love that burns on the salver
of knowledge.
Kabîr says: "There error cannot enter,
and the conflict of life and death is felt no more."
18
III. 77. maddh âkas' âp jahân baithe
THE middle region of the sky, wherein the spirit dwelleth,
is radiant with the music of light;
There, where the pure
and white music blossoms, my Lord takes His delight.
In the
wondrous effulgence of each hair of His body, the brightness
of millions of suns and of moons is lost.
On that shore there
is a city, where the rain of nectar pours and pours, and never
ceases.
Kabîr says: "Come, O Dharmadas! and see my
great Lord's Durbar."
19
III. 20. paramâtam guru nikat virâjatn
O MY heart! the Supreme Spirit, the great Master, is near
you: wake, oh wake!
Run to the feet of your Beloved: for
your Lord stands near to your head.
You have slept for unnumbered
ages; this morning will you not wake?
20
III. 22. man tu pâr utar kânh jaiho
To what shore would you cross, O my heart? there is no traveller
before you, there is no road:
Where is the movement, where
is the rest, on that shore?
There is no water; no boat, no
boatman, is there;
There is not so much as a rope to tow
the boat, nor a man to draw it.
No earth, no sky, no time,
no thing, is there: no shore, no ford!
There, there is neither
body nor mind: and where is the place that shall still the thirst
of the soul? You shall find naught in that emptiness.
Be
strong, and enter into your own body: for there your foothold
is firm. Consider it well, O my heart! go not elsewhere,
Kabîr says: "Put all imaginations away, and stand fast
in that which you are."
21
III. 33. ghar ghar dîpak barai
LAMPS burn in every house, O blind one! and you cannot see
them.
One day your eyes shall suddenly be opened, and you
shall see: and the fetters of death will fall from you.
There
is nothing to say or to hear, there is nothing to do: it is
he who is living, yet dead, who shall never die again.
Because
he lives in solitude, therefore the Yogi says that his home
is far away.
Your Lord is near: yet you are climbing
the palm-tree to seek Him.
The Brâhman priest goes from house
to house and initiates people into faith:
Alas! the true
fountain of life is beside you., and you have set up a stone
to worship.
Kabîr says: "I may never express how sweet
my Lord is. Yoga and the telling of beads, virtue and vice--these
are naught to Him."
22
III. 38. Sâdho, so satgur mohi bhâwai
O BROTHER, my heart yearns for that true Guru, who fills
the cup of true love, and drinks of it himself, and offers it
then to me.
He removes the veil from the eyes, and gives
the true Vision of Brahma:
He reveals the worlds in Him,
and makes me to hear the Unstruck Music:
He shows joy and
sorrow to be one:
He fills all utterance with love.
Kabîr
says: "Verily he has no fear, who has such a Guru to lead him
to the shelter of safety!"
23
III. 40. tinwir sâñjh kâ gahirâ âwai
THE shadows of evening fall thick and deep, and the darkness
of love envelops the body and the mind.
Open the window to
the west, and be lost in the sky of love;
Drink the sweet
honey that steeps the petals of the lotus of the heart.
Receive
the waves in your body: what splendour is in the region of the
sea!
Hark! the sounds of conches and bells are rising.
Kabîr says: "O brother, behold! the Lord is in this vessel
of my body."
24
III. 48. jis se rahani apâr jagat men
MORE than all else do I cherish at heart that love which
makes me to live a limitless life in this world.
It is like
the lotus, which lives in the water and blooms in the water:
yet the water cannot touch its petals, they open beyond its
reach.
It is like a wife, who enters the fire at the bidding
of love. She burns and lets others grieve, yet never dishonours
love.
This ocean of the world is hard to cross: its waters
are very deep. Kabîr says: "Listen to me, O Sadhu! few
there are who have reached its end."
25
III. 45. Hari ne apnâ âp chipâyâ
MY Lord hides Himself, and my Lord wonderfully reveals Himself:
My Lord has encompassed me with hardness, and my Lord has cast
down my limitations.
My Lord brings to me words of sorrow
and words of joy, and He Himself heals their strife.
I will
offer my body and mind to my Lord: I will give up my life, but
never can I forget my Lord!
26
III. 75. ônkâr siwae kôî sirjai
ALL things are created by the Om;
The love-form is His
body.
He is without form, without quality, without decay:
Seek thou union with Him!
But that formless God takes
a thousand forms in the eyes of His creatures:
He is pure
and indestructible,
His form is infinite and fathomless,
He dances in rapture, and waves of form arise from His dance.
The body and the mind cannot contain themselves, when they are
touched by His great joy.
He is immersed in all consciousness,
all joys, and all sorrows;
He has no beginning and no end;
He holds all within His bliss.
27
III. 81. satgur sôî dayâ kar dînhâ
IT is the mercy of my true Guru that has made me to know
the unknown;
I have learned from Him how to walk without
feet, to see without eyes, to hear without ears, to drink without
mouth, to fly without wings;
I have brought my love and my
meditation into the land where there is no sun and moon, nor
day and night.
Without eating, I have tasted of the sweetness
of nectar; and without water, I have quenched my thirst.
Where there is the response of delight, there is the fullness
of joy. Before whom can that joy be uttered?
Kabîr
says: "The Guru is great beyond words, and great is the good
fortune of the disciple."
28
III. 85. nirgun âge sargun nâcai
BEFORE the Unconditioned, the Conditioned dances: "Thou and
I are one!" this trumpet proclaims.
The Guru comes, and bows
down before the disciple:
This is the greatest of wonders.
29
III. 87. Kabîr kab se bhaye vairâgî
GORAKHNATH asks Kabîr:
"Tell me, O Kabîr,
when did your vocation begin? Where did your love have its rise?"
Kabîr answers:
"When He whose forms are manifold had
not begun His play: when there was no Guru, and no disciple:
when the world was not spread out: when the Supreme One was
alone--
Then I became an ascetic; then, O Gorakh, my love
was drawn to Brahma.
Brahma did not hold the crown on his
head; the god Vishnu was not anointed as king; the power of
Shiva was still unborn; when I was instructed in Yoga.
I
became suddenly revealed in Benares, and Râmânanda
illumined me;
I brought with me the thirst for the Infinite,
and I have come for the meeting with Him.
In simplicity will
I unite with the Simple One; my love will surge up.
O Gorakh,
march thou with His music!"
30
III. 95. yâ tarvar men ek pakherû
ON this tree is a bird: it dances in the joy of life.
None knows where it is: and who knows what the burden of its
music may be?
Where the branches throw a deep shade,
there does it have its nest: and it comes in the evening and
flies away in the morning, and says not a word of that which
it means.
None tell me of this bird that sings within me.
It is neither coloured nor colourless: it has neither form nor
outline:
It sits in the shadow of love.
It dwells within
the Unattainable, the Infinite, and the Eternal; and no one
marks when it comes and goes.
Kabîr says: "O brother
Sadhu! deep is the mystery. Let wise men seek to know where
rests that bird."
31
III. 100. nis` din sâlai ghâw
A SORE pain troubles me day and night, and I cannot sleep;
I long for the meeting with my Beloved, and my father's house
gives me pleasure no more.
The gates of the sky are
opened, the temple is revealed:
I meet my husband, and leave
at His feet the offering of my body and my mind.
32
III. 103. nâco re mero man, matta hoy
DANCE, my heart! dance to-day with joy.
The strains of
love fill the days and the nights with music, and the world
is listening to its melodies:
Mad with joy, life and death
dance to the rhythm of this music. The hills and the sea and
the earth dance. The world of man dances in laughter and tears.
Why put on the robe of the monk, and live aloof from the world
in lonely pride?
Behold! my heart dances in the delight
of a hundred arts; and the Creator is well pleased.
33
III. 105. man mast huâ tab kyon bole
WHERE is the need of words, when love has made drunken the
heart?
I have wrapped the diamond in my cloak; why open it
again and again?
When its load was light, the pan of the
balance went up: now it is full, where is the need for weighing?
The swan has taken its flight to the lake beyond the mountains;
why should it search for the pools and ditches any more?
Your Lord dwells within you: why need your outward eyes be opened?
Kabîr says: "Listen, my brother! my Lord, who ravishes
my eyes, has united Himself with me."
34
III. 110. mohi tohi lâgî kaise chute
HOW could the love between Thee and me sever?
As the leaf
of the lotus abides on the water: so thou art my Lord, and I
am Thy servant.
As the night-bird Chakor gazes all night
at the moon: so Thou art my Lord and I am Thy servant.
From
the beginning until the ending of time, there is love between
Thee and me; and how shall such love be extinguished?
Kabîr
says: "As the river enters into the ocean, so my heart touches
Thee."
35
III. 113. vâlam, âwo hamâre geh re
MY body and my mind are grieved for the want of Thee;
O my Beloved! come to my house.
When people say I am
Thy bride, I am ashamed; for I have not touched Thy heart with
my heart.
Then what is this love of mine? I have no taste
for food, I have no sleep; my heart is ever restless within
doors and without.
As water is to the thirsty, so is the
lover to the bride. Who is there that will carry my news to
my Beloved?
Kabîr is restless: he is dying for sight
of Him.
36
III. 126. jâg piyârî, ab kân sowai
O FRIEND, awake, and sleep no more!
The night is over
and gone, would you lose your day also?
Others, who have
wakened, have received jewels;
O foolish woman! you
have lost all whilst you slept.
Your lover is wise, and you
are foolish, O woman!
You never prepared the bed of your
husband:
O mad one! you passed your time in silly play.
Your youth was passed in vain, for you did not know your Lord;
Wake, wake! See! your bed is empty: He left you in the night.
Kabîr says: "Only she wakes, whose heart is pierced with
the arrow of His music."
37
II. 36. sûr parkâs', tanh rain kahân pâïye
WHERE is the night, when the sun is shining? If it is night,
then the sun withdraws its light. Where knowledge is, can ignorance
endure? If there be ignorance, then knowledge must die.
If
there be lust, how can love be there? Where there is love, there
is no lust.
Lay hold on your sword, and join in the fight.
Fight, O my brother, as long as life lasts.
Strike off your
enemy's head, and there make an end of him quickly: then come,
and bow your head at your King's Durbar.
He who is brave,
never forsakes the battle: he who flies from it is no true fighter.
In the field of this body a great war goes forward, against
passion, anger, pride, and greed:
It is in the kingdom of
truth, contentment and purity, that this battle is raging; and
the sword that rings forth most loudly is the sword of His Name.
Kabîr says: "When a brave knight takes the field, a host
of cowards is put to flight.
It is a hard fight and a weary
one, this fight of the truth-seeker: for the vow of the truth-seeker
is more hard than that of the warrior, or of the widowed wife
who would follow her husband.
For the warrior fights for
a few hours, and the widow's struggle with death is soon ended:
But the truth-seeker's battle goes on day and night, as long
as life lasts it never ceases."
38
II. 50. bhram kâ tâlâ lagâ mahal re
THE lock of error shuts the gate, open it with the key of
love: Thus, by opening the door, thou shalt wake the Beloved.
Kabîr says: "O brother! do not pass by such good fortune
as this."
39
II. 59. sâdho, yah tan thâth tanvure ka
O FRIEND! this body is His lyre; He tightens its strings,
and draws from it the melody of Brahma.
If the strings snap
and the keys slacken, then to dust must this instrument of dust
return:
Kabîr says: "None but Brahma can evoke its melodies."
40
II. 65. avadhû bhûle ko ghar lâwe
HE is dear to me indeed who can call back the wanderer to
his home. In the home is the true union, in the home is enjoyment
of life: why should I forsake my home and wander in the forest?
If Brahma helps me to realize truth, verily I will find both
bondage and deliverance in home.
He is dear to me indeed
who has power to dive deep into Brahma; whose mind loses itself
with ease in His contemplation.
He is dear to me who knows
Brahma, and can dwell on His supreme truth in meditation; and
who can play the melody of the Infinite by uniting love and
renunciation in life.
Kabîr says: "The home is the abiding
place; in the home is reality; the home helps to attain Him
Who is real. So stay where you are, and all things shall come
to you in time."
41
II. 76. santo, sahaj samâdh bhalî
O SADHU! the simple union is the best. Since the day when
I met with my Lord, there has been no end to the sport
of our love.
I shut not my eyes, I close not my ears, I do
not mortify my body;
I see with eyes open and smile, and
behold His beauty everywhere:
I utter His Name, and whatever
I see, it reminds me of Him; whatever I do., it becomes His
worship.
The rising and the setting are one to me; all contradictions
are solved.
Wherever I go, I move round Him,
All I achieve
is His service:
When I lie down, I lie prostrate at His feet.
He is the only adorable one to me: I have none other.
My
tongue has left off impure words, it sings His glory day and
night:
Whether I rise or sit down, I can never forget Him;
for the rhythm of His music beats in my ears. {p. 90}
Kabîr
says: "My heart is frenzied, and I disclose in my soul what
is hidden. I am immersed in that one great bliss which transcends
all pleasure and pain."
42
II. 79. tîrath men to sab pânî hai
THERE is nothing but water at the holy bathing places; and
I know that they are useless, for I have bathed in them.
The images are all lifeless, they cannot speak; I know, for
I have cried aloud to them.
The Purana and the Koran are
mere words; lifting up the curtain, I have seen.
Kabîr
gives utterance to the words of experience; and he knows very
well that all other things are untrue.
43
II. 82. pânî vic mîn piyâsî
I LAUGH when I hear that the fish in the water is thirsty:
You do not see that the Real is in your home, and you wander
from forest to forest listlessly!
Here is the truth! Go where
you will, to Benares or to Mathura; if you do not find your
soul, the world is unreal to you.
44
II. 93. gagan math gaib nisân gade
THE Hidden Banner is planted in the temple of the sky; there
the blue canopy decked with the moon and set with bright jewels
is spread.
There the light of the sun and the moon is shining:
still your mind to silence before that splendour.
Kabîr
says: "He who has drunk of this nectar, wanders like one who
is mad."
45
II. 97. sâdho, ko hai kânh se âyo
WHO are you, and whence do you come?
Where dwells that
Supreme Spirit, and how does He have His sport with all created
things?
The fire is in the wood; but who awakens it suddenly?
Then it turns to ashes, and where goes the force of the fire?
The true guru teaches that He has neither limit nor infinitude.
Kabîr says: "Brahma suits His language to the understanding
of His hearer."
46
II. 98. sâdho, sahajai kâyâ s'odho
O SADHU! purify your body in the simple way.
As the seed
is within the banyan tree, and within the seed are the flowers,
the fruits, and the shade:
So the germ is within the body,
and within that germ is the body again.
The fire, the air,
the water, the earth, and the ether; you cannot have these outside
of Him.
O, Kazi, O Pundit, consider it well: what is there
that is not in the soul?
The water-filled pitcher is placed
upon water, it has water within and without.
It should not
be given a name, lest it call forth the error of dualism.
Kabîr says: "Listen to the Word, the Truth, which is your
essence. He speaks the Word to Himself; and He Himself is the
Creator."
47
II. 102. tarvar ek mûl vin thâdâ
THERE is a strange tree, which stands without roots and bears
fruits without blossoming;
It has no branches and no leaves,
it is lotus all over.
Two birds sing there; one is the Guru,
and the other the disciple:
The disciple chooses the manifold
fruits of life and tastes them, and the Guru beholds him in
joy.
What Kabîr says is hard to understand: "The bird
is beyond seeking, yet it is most clearly visible. The Formless
is in the midst of all forms. I sing the glory of forms."
48
II. 107. calat mansâ acal kînhî
I HAVE stilled my restless mind, and my heart is radiant:
for in Thatness I have seen beyond That-ness. In company I have
seen the Comrade Himself.
Living in bondage, I have set myself
free: I have broken away from the clutch of all narrowness.
Kabîr says: "I have attained the unattainable, and my
heart is coloured with the colour of love."
49
II. 105. jo dîsai, so to hai nâhîn
THAT which you see is not: and for that which is, you have
no words.
Unless you see, you believe not: what is told you you
cannot accept.
He who is discerning knows by the word; and
the ignorant stands gaping.
Some contemplate the Formless,
and others meditate on form: but the wise man knows that Brahma
is beyond both.
That beauty of His is not seen of the eye:
that metre of His is not heard of the ear.
Kabîr says:
"He who has found both love and renunciation never descends
to death."
50
II. 126. muralî bajat akhand sadâye
THE flute of the Infinite is played without ceasing, and
its sound is love:
When love renounces all limits, it reaches
truth.
How widely the fragrance spreads! It has no end, nothing
stands in its way.
The form of this melody is bright like
a million suns: incomparably sounds the vina, the vina of the
notes of truth.
51
II. 129. sakhiyo, ham hûn bhâî vâlamâs'î
DEAR friend, I am eager to meet my Beloved! My youth has
flowered, and the pain of separation from Him troubles my breast.
I am wandering yet in the alleys of knowledge without purpose,
but I have received His news in these alleys of knowledge.
I have a letter from my Beloved: in this letter is an unutterable
message, and now my fear of death is done away.
Kabîr
says: "O my loving friend! I have got for my gift the Deathless
One."
52
II. 130. sâîn vin dard kareje hoy
WHEN I am parted from my Beloved, my heart is full of misery:
I have no comfort in the day, I have no sleep in the night.
To whom shall I tell my sorrow?
The night is dark; the hours
slip by. Because my Lord is absent, I start up and tremble with
fear.
Kabîr says: "Listen, my friend! there is no other
satisfaction, save in the encounter with the Beloved."
53
II. 122. kaum muralî s'abd s'un ânand bhayo
WHAT is that flute whose music thrills me with joy?
The
flame burns without a lamp;
The lotus blossoms without a
root;
Flowers bloom in clusters;
The moon-bird is
devoted to the moon;
With all its heart the rain-bird longs
for the shower of rain;
But upon whose love does the Lover
concentrate His entire life?
54
II. 112. s'untâ nahî dhun kî khabar
HAVE you not heard the tune which the Unstruck Music is playing?
In the midst of the chamber the harp of joy is gently and sweetly
played; and where is the need of going without to hear it?
If you have not drunk of the nectar of that One Love, what boots
it though you should purge yourself of all stains?
The Kazi
is searching the words of the Koran, and instructing others:
but if his heart be not steeped in that love, what does it avail,
though he be a teacher of men?
The Yogi dyes his garments
with red: but if he knows naught of that colour of love, what
does it avail though his garments be tinted?
Kabîr
says: "Whether I be in the temple or the balcony, in the camp
or in the flower garden, I tell you truly that every moment
my Lord is taking His delight in me."
55
II. 73. bhakti kâ mârag jhînâ re
SUBTLE is the path of love!
Therein there is no asking
and no not-asking,
There one loses one's self at His feet,
There one is immersed in the joy of the seeking: plunged in
the deeps of love as the fish in the water.
The lover is
never slow in offering his head for his Lord's service.
Kabîr
declares the secret of this love.
56
II. 68. bhâi kôî satguru sant kahâwaî
HE is the real Sadhu, who can reveal the form of the Formless
to the vision of these eyes:
Who teaches the simple way of
attaining Him, that is other than rites or ceremonies:
Who
does not make you close the doors, and hold the breath, and
renounce the world:
Who makes you perceive the Supreme Spirit
wherever the mind attaches itself:
Who teaches you to be
still in the midst of all your activities.
Ever immersed
in bliss, having no fear in his mind, he keeps the spirit of
union in the midst of all enjoyments.
The infinite dwelling
of the Infinite Being is everywhere: in earth, water, sky, and
air:
Firm as the thunderbolt, the seat of the seeker is established
above the void.
He who is within is without: I see Him and
none else.
57
II. 66. sâdho, s'abd sâdhnâ kîjai
RECEIVE that Word from which the Universe springeth!
That
word is the Guru; I have heard it, and become the disciple.
How many are there who know the meaning of that word?
O Sadhu!
practise that Word!
The Vedas and the Puranas proclaim it,
The world is established in it,
The Rishis and devotees
speak of it:
But none knows the mystery of the Word.
The
householder leaves his house when he hears it,
The ascetic
comes back to love when he hears it,
The Six Philosophies
expound it,
The Spirit of Renunciation points to that Word,
From that Word the world-form has sprung,
That Word reveals
all.
Kabîr says: "But who knows whence the Word cometh?
58
II. 63. pîle pyâlâ, ho matwâlâ
EMPTY the Cup! O be drunken!
Drink the divine nectar of
His Name!
Kabîr says: "Listen tome, dear Sadhu!
From the sole of the foot to the crown of the head this mind
is filled with poison."
59
II. 52. khasm na cînhai bâwari
O MAN, if thou dost not know thine own Lord, whereof art
thou so proud?
Put thy cleverness away: mere words shall
never unite thee to Him.
Do not deceive thyself with the
witness of the Scriptures:
Love is something other than this,
and he who has sought it truly has found it.
60
II. 56. sukh sindh kî sair kâ
THE savour of wandering in the ocean of deathless life has
rid me of all my asking:
As the tree is in the seed,
so all diseases are in this asking.
61
II. 48. sukh sâgar men âîke
WHEN at last you are come to the ocean of happiness, do not
go back thirsty.
Wake, foolish man! for Death stalks you.
Here is pure water before you; drink it at every breath.
Do not follow the mirage on foot, but thirst for the nectar;
Dhruva, Prahlad, and Shukadeva have drunk of it, and also Raidas
has tasted it:
The saints are drunk with love, their thirst
is for love.
Kabîr says: "Listen to me, brother! The
nest of fear is broken.
Not for a moment have you come face
to face with the world:
You are weaving your bondage
of falsehood, your words are full of deception:
With the
load of desires which you. hold on your head, how can you be
light?"
Kabîr says: "Keep within you truth, detachment,
and love."
62
II. 35. satî ko kaun s'ikhâwtâ hai
WHO has ever taught the widowed wife to burn herself on the
pyre of her dead husband?
And who has ever taught love to
find bliss in renunciation?
63
II. 39. are man, dhîraj kâhe na dharai
WHY so impatient, my heart?
He who watches over birds,
beasts, and insects,
He who cared for you whilst you
were yet in your mother's womb,
Shall He not care for you
now that you are come forth?
Oh my heart, how could you turn
from the smile of your Lord and wander so far from Him?
You
have left Your Beloved and are thinking of others: and this
is why all your work is in vain.
64
II. 117. sâîn se lagan kathin hai, bhâî
NOW hard it is to meet my Lord!
The rain-bird wails in
thirst for the rain: almost she dies of her longing, yet she
would have none other water than the rain.
Drawn by the love
of music, the deer moves forward: she dies as she listens to
the music, yet she shrinks not in fear.
The widowed
wife sits by the body of her dead husband: she is not afraid
of the fire.
Put away all fear for this poor body.
65
II. 22. jab main bhûlâ, re bhâî
O BROTHER! when I was forgetful, my true Guru showed me the
Way.
Then I left off all rites and ceremonies, I bathed no
more in the holy water:
Then I learned that it was I alone
who was mad, and the whole world beside me was sane; and I had
disturbed these wise people.
From that time forth I knew
no more how to roll in the dust in obeisance:
I do not ring
the temple bell:
I do not set the idol on its throne:
I do not worship the image with flowers.
It is not the austerities
that mortify the flesh which are pleasing to the Lord,
When
you leave off your clothes and kill your senses, you do not
please the Lord:
The man who is kind and who practises righteousness,
who remains passive amidst the affairs of the world, who considers
all creatures on earth as his own self,
He attains the Immortal
Being, the true God is ever with him.
Kabîr says: "He
attains the true Name whose words are pure, and who is free
from pride and conceit."
66
II. 20. man na rangâye
THE Yogi dyes his garments, instead of dyeing his mind in
the colours of love:
He sits within the temple of the
Lord, leaving Brahma to worship a stone.
He pierces holes
in his ears, he has a great beard and matted locks, he looks
like a goat:
He goes forth into the wilderness, killing all
his desires, and turns himself into an eunuch:
He shaves
his head and dyes his garments; he reads the Gîtâ and becomes
a mighty talker.
Kabîr says: "You are going to the doors
of death, bound hand and foot!"
67
II. 9. nâ jâne sâhab kaisâ hai
I DO not know what manner of God is mine.
The Mullah cries
aloud to Him: and why? Is your Lord deaf? The subtle anklets
that ring on the feet of an insect when it moves are heard of
Him.
Tell your beads, paint your forehead with the mark of
your God, and wear matted locks long and showy: but a deadly
weapon is in your heart, and how shall you have God?
68
IIII. 102. ham se rahâ na jây
I HEAR the melody of His flute, and I cannot contain myself:
The flower blooms, though it is not spring; and already the
bee has received its invitation.
The sky roars and the lightning
flashes, the waves arise in my heart,
The rain falls; and
my heart longs for my Lord.
Where the rhythm of the world
rises and falls, thither my heart has reached:
There
the hidden banners are fluttering in the air.
Kabîr
says: "My heart is dying, though it lives."
69
IIII. 2. jo khodâ masjid vasat hai
IF God be within the mosque, then to whom does this world
belong?
If Ram be within the image which you find upon your
pilgrimage, then who is there to know what happens without?
Hari is in the East: Allah is in the West. Look within your
heart, for there you will find both Karim and Ram;
All the
men and women of the world are His living forms.
Kabîr
is the child of Allah and of Ram: He is my Guru, He is my Pir.
70
IIII. 9. s'îl santosh sadâ samadrishti
HE who is meek and contented., he who has an equal vision,
whose mind is filled with the fullness of acceptance and of
rest;
He who has seen Him and touched Him, he is freed from
all fear and trouble.
To him the perpetual thought of God
is like sandal paste smeared on the body, to him nothing else
is delight:
His work and his rest are filled with music:
he sheds abroad the radiance of love.
Kabîr says: "Touch
His feet, who is one and indivisible, immutable and peaceful;
who fills all vessels to the brim with joy, and whose form is
love."
71
IIII. 13. sâdh sangat pîtam
GO thou to the company of the good, where the Beloved One
has His dwelling place:
Take all thy thoughts and love and
instruction from thence.
Let that assembly be burnt to ashes
where His Name is not spoken!
Tell me, how couldst thou hold
a wedding-feast, if the bridegroom himself were not there?
Waver no more, think only of the Beloved;
Set not thy heart
on the worship of other gods, there is no worth in the worship
of other masters.
Kabîr deliberates and says: "Thus
thou shalt never find the Beloved!"
72
IIII. 26. tor hîrâ hirâilwâ kîcad men
THE jewel is lost in the mud, and all are seeking for it;
Some look for it in the east, and some in the west; some in
the water and some amongst stones.
But the servant Kabîr
has appraised it at its true value, and has wrapped it with
care in the end of the mantle of his heart.
73
IIII. 26. âyau din gaune kâ ho
THE palanquin came to take me away to my husband's home,
and it sent through my heart a thrill of joy;
But the bearers
have brought me into the lonely forest, where I have no one
of my own.
O bearers, I entreat you by your feet, wait
but a moment longer: let me go back to my kinsmen and friends,
and take my leave of them.
The servant Kabîr sings:
"O Sadhu! finish your buying and selling, have done with your
good and your bad: for there are no markets and no shops in
the land to which you go."
74
IIII. 30. are dil, prem nagar kä ant na pâyâ
O MY heart! you have not known all the secrets of this city
of love: in ignorance you came, and in ignorance you return.
O my friend, what have you done with this life? You have taken
on your head the burden heavy with stones, and who is to lighten
it for you?
Your Friend stands on the other shore,
but you never think in your mind how you may meet with Him:
The boat is broken, and yet you sit ever upon the bank; and
thus you are beaten to no purpose by the waves.
The servant
Kabîr asks you to consider; who is there that shall befriend
you at the last?
You are alone, you have no companion: you
will suffer the consequences of your own deeds.
75
IIII. 55. ved kahe sargun ke âge
THE Vedas say that the Unconditioned stands beyond the world
of Conditions.
O woman, what does it avail thee to dispute
whether He is beyond all or in all?
See thou everything
as thine own dwelling place: the mist of pleasure and pain can
never spread there.
There Brahma is revealed day and night:
there light is His garment, light is His seat, light rests on
thy head.
Kabîr says: "The Master, who is true, He
is all light."
76
IIII. 48. tû surat nain nihâr
OPEN your eyes of love, and see Him who pervades this world
I consider it well, and know that this is your own country.
When you meet the true Guru, He will awaken your heart;
He
will tell you the secret of love and detachment, and then you
will know indeed that He transcends this universe.
This world is the City of Truth, its maze of paths enchants
the heart:
We can reach the goal without crossing the road,
such is the sport unending.
Where the ring of manifold joys
ever dances about Him, there is the sport of Eternal Bliss.
When we know this,, then all our receiving and renouncing is
over;
Thenceforth the heat of having shall never scorch us
more.
He is the Ultimate Rest unbounded:
He has spread
His form of love throughout all the world.
From that Ray
which is Truth, streams of new forms are perpetually springing:
and He pervades those forms.
All the gardens and groves and
bowers are abounding with blossom; and the air breaks forth
into ripples of joy.
There the swan plays a wonderful
game,
There the Unstruck Music eddies around the Infinite
One;
There in the midst the Throne of the Unheld is shining,
whereon the great Being sits--
Millions of suns are shamed
by the radiance of a single hair of His body.
On the harp
of the road what true melodies are being sounded! and its notes
pierce the heart:
There the Eternal Fountain is playing its
endless life-streams of birth and death.
They call Him Emptiness
who is the Truth of truths, in Whom all truths are stored!
There within Him creation goes forward, which is beyond all
philosophy; for philosophy cannot attain to Him:
There is
an endless world, O my Brother! and there is the Nameless Being,
of whom naught can be said.
Only he knows it who has reached
that region: it is other than all that is heard and said.
No form, no body, no length, no breadth is seen there: how can
I tell you that which it is?
He comes to the Path of the
Infinite on whom the grace of the Lord descends: he is freed
from births and deaths who attains to Him.
Kabîr says:
"It cannot be told by the words of the mouth, it cannot be written
on paper:
It is like a dumb person who tastes a sweet thing--how
shall it be explained?"
77
IIII. 60. cal hamsâ wâ des' jahân
O MY heart! let us go to that country where dwells the Beloved,
the ravisher of my heart!
There Love is filling her pitcher
from the well, yet she has no rope wherewith to draw water;
There the clouds do not cover the sky, yet the rain falls down
in gentle showers:
O bodiless one! do not sit on your doorstep;
go forth and bathe yourself in that rain!
There it is ever
moonlight and never dark; and who speaks of one sun only? that
land is illuminate with the rays of a million suns.
78
IIII. 63. kahain Kabîr, s'uno ho sâdho
KABÎR says: "O Sadhu! hear my deathless words. If you
want your own good, examine and consider them well.
You have
estranged yourself from the Creator, of whom you have sprung:
you have lost your reason, you have bought death.
All doctrines
and all teachings are sprung from Him, from Him they grow: know
this for certain, and have no fear.
Hear from me the tidings
of this great truth!
Whose name do you sing, and on whom
do you meditate? O, come forth from this entanglement!
He
dwells at the heart of all things, so why take refuge in empty
desolation?
If you place the Guru at a distance from
you, then it is but the distance that you honour:
If indeed
the Master be far away, then who is it else that is creating
this world?
When you think that He is not here, then you
wander further and further away, and seek Him in vain with tears.
Where He is far off, there He is unattainable: where He is near,
He is very bliss.
Kabîr says: "Lest His servant should
suffer pain He pervades him through and through."
Know yourself
then, O Kabîr; for He is in you from head to foot.
Sing with gladness, and keep your seat unmoved within your heart.
79
IIII. 66. nâ main dharmî nahîn adharmî
I AM neither pious nor ungodly, I live neither by law nor
by sense,
I am neither a speaker nor hearer, I am neither
a servant nor master, I am neither bond nor free,
I am neither
detached nor attached.
I am far from none: I am near to none.
I shall go neither to hell nor to heaven.
I do all works;
yet I am apart from all works.
Few comprehend my meaning:
he who can comprehend it, he sits unmoved.
Kabîr seeks
neither to establish nor to destroy.
80
IIII. 69. satta nâm hai sab ten nyârâ
THE true Name is like none other name!
The distinction
of the Conditioned from the Unconditioned is but a word:
The Unconditioned is the seed, the Conditioned is the flower
and the fruit.
Knowledge is the branch, and the Name is the
root.
Look, and see where the root is: happiness shall be
yours when you come to the root.
The root will lead you to
the branch, the leaf, the flower, and the fruit:
It is the
encounter with the Lord, it is the attainment of bliss, it is
the reconciliation of the Conditioned and the Unconditioned.
81
IIII. 74. pratham ek jo âpai âp
IN the beginning was He alone, sufficient unto Himself: the
formless, colourless, and unconditioned Being.
Then was there
neither beginning, middle, nor end;
Then were no eyes, no
darkness, no light;
Then were no ground, air, nor sky; no
fire, water, nor earth; no rivers like the Ganges and the Jumna,
no seas, oceans, and waves.
Then was neither vice nor virtue;
scriptures there were not, as the Vedas and Puranas, nor as
the Koran.
Kabîr ponders in his mind and says, "Then
was there no activity: the Supreme Being remained merged in
the unknown depths of His own self."
The Guru neither
eats nor drinks, neither lives nor dies:
Neither has He form,
line, colour, nor vesture.
He who has neither caste nor clan
nor anything else--how may I describe His glory?
He has neither
form nor formlessness,
He has no name,
He has neither
colour nor colourlessness,
He has no dwelling-place.
82
IIII. 76. kahain Kabîr vicâr ke
KABÎR ponders and says: "He who has neither caste nor
country, who is formless and without quality, fills all space."
The Creator brought into being the Game of Joy: and from the
word Om the Creation sprang.
The earth is His joy;
His joy is the sky;
His joy is the flashing of the sun and
the moon;
His joy is the beginning, the middle, and the end;
His joy is eyes, darkness, and light.
Oceans and waves are
His joy: His joy the Sarasvati, the Jumna, and the Ganges.
The Guru is One: and life and death., union and separation,
are all His plays of joy!
His play the land and water, the
whole universe!
His play the earth and the sky!
In play
is the Creation spread out, in play it is established. The whole
world, says Kabîr, rests in His play, yet still the Player
remains unknown.
83
IIII. 84. jhî jhî jantar bâjai
THE harp gives forth murmurous music; and the dance goes
on without hands and feet.
It is played without fingers,
it is heard without ears: for He is the ear, and He is the listener.
The gate is locked, but within there is fragrance: and there
the meeting is seen of none.
The wise shall understand it.
84
IIII. 89. mor phakîrwâ mângi jây
THE Beggar goes a-begging, but
I could not even catch
sight of Him:
And what shall I beg of the Beggar He gives
without my asking.
Kabîr says: "I am His own: now let
that befall which may befall!"
85
IIII. 90. naihar se jiyarâ phât re
MY heart cries aloud for the house of my lover; the open
road and the shelter of a roof are all one to her who has lost
the city of her husband.
My heart finds no joy in anything:
my mind and my body are distraught.
His palace has a million
gates, but there is a vast ocean between it and me:
How shall
I cross it, O friend? for endless is the outstretching of the
path.
How wondrously this lyre is wrought! When its strings
are rightly strung, it maddens the heart: but when the keys
are broken and the strings are loosened, none regard it more.
I tell my parents with laughter that I must go to my Lord in
the morning;
They are angry, for they do not want me
to go, and they say: "She thinks she has gained such dominion
over her husband that she can have whatsoever she wishes; and
therefore she is impatient to go to him."
Dear friend, lift
my veil lightly now; for this is the night of love.
Kabîr
says: "Listen to me! My heart is eager to meet my lover: I lie
sleepless upon my bed. Remember me early in the morning!"
86
IIII. 96. jîv mahal men S'iv pahunwâ
SERVE your God, who has come into this temple of life!
Do not act the part of a madman, for the night is thickening
fast.
He has awaited me for countless ages, for love
of me He has lost His heart:
Yet I did not know the bliss
that was so near to me, for my love was not yet awake.
But
now, my Lover has made known to me the meaning of the note that
struck my ear:
Now, my good fortune is come.
Kabîr
says: "Behold! how great is my good fortune! I have received
the unending caress of my Beloved!"
87
II. 71. gagan ghatâ ghaharânî, sâdho
CLOUDS thicken in the sky! O, listen to the deep voice of
their roaring;
The rain comes from the east with its monotonous
murmur.
Take care of the fences and boundaries of your fields,
lest the rains overflow them;
Prepare the soil of deliverance,
and let the creepers of love and renunciation be soaked in this
shower.
It is the prudent farmer who will bring his harvest
home; he shall fill both his vessels, and feed both the wise
men and the saints.
88
IIII. 118. âj din ke main jaun balihârî
THIS day is dear to me above all other days, for to-day the
Beloved Lord is a guest in my house;
MY chamber and my courtyard
are beautiful with His presence.
My longings sing His Name,
and they are become lost in His great beauty:
I wash His
feet, and I look upon His Face; and I lay before Him as an offering
my body, my mind, and all that 1 have.
What a day of gladness
is that day in which my Beloved, who is my treasure, comes to
my house!
All evils fly from my heart when I see my Lord.
"My love has touched Him; my heart is longing for the Name which
is Truth."
Thus sings Kabîr, the servant of all servants.
89
II. 100. kôi s'untâ hai jñânî râg gagan men
IS there any wise man who will listen to that solemn music
which arises in the sky?
For He, the Source of all music,
makes all vessels full fraught, and rests in fullness Himself.
He who is in the body is ever athirst, for he pursues that which
is in part:
But ever there wells forth deeper and deeper
the sound "He is this--this is He"; fusing love and renunciation
into one.
Kabîr says: "O brother! that is the Primal
Word."
90
II. 108. main kâ se bûjhaun
TO whom shall I go to learn about my Beloved?
Kabîr
says: "As you never may find the forest if you ignore the tree,
so He may never be found in abstractions."
91
IIII. 12. samskirit bhâshâ padhi lînhâ
I HAVE learned the Sanskrit language, so let all men call
me wise:
But where is the use of this, when I am floating
adrift, and parched with thirst, and burning with the heat of
desire?
To no purpose do you bear on your head this load
of pride and vanity.
Kabîr says: "Lay it down in the
dust, and go forth to meet the Beloved. Address Him as your
Lord."
92
IIII. 110. carkhâ calai surat virahin kâ
THE woman who is parted from her lover spins at the spinning
wheel.
The city of the body arises in its beauty; and within
it the palace of the mind has been built.
The wheel of love
revolves in the sky, and the seat is made of the jewels of knowledge:
What subtle threads the woman weaves, and makes them fine with
love and reverence!
Kabîr says: "I am weaving
the garland of day and night. When my Lover comes and touches
me with His feet, I shall offer Him my tears."
93
IIII. 111. kotîn bhânu candra târâgan
BENEATH the great umbrella of my King millions of suns and
moons and stars are shining!
He is the Mind within my mind:
He is the Eye within mine eye.
Ah, could my mind and eyes
be one! Could my love but reach to my Lover! Could but the fiery
heat of my heart be cooled!
Kabîr says: "When you unite
love with the Lover, then you have love's perfection."
94
II. 92. avadhû begam des' hamârâ
O SADHU! my land is a sorrowless land.
I cry aloud to
all, to the king and the beggar, the emperor and the fakir--
Whosoever seeks for shelter in the Highest, let all come and
settle in my land!
Let the weary come and lay his burdens
here!
So live here, my brother, that you may cross with ease
to that other shore.
It is a land without earth or sky, without
moon or stars;
For only the radiance of Truth shines in my
Lord's Durbar.
Kabîr says: "O beloved brother! naught
is essential save Truth."
95
II. 109. sâîn ke sangat sâsur âî
CAME with my Lord to my Lord's home: but I lived not with
Him and I tasted Him not, and my youth passed away like a dream.
On my wedding night my women-friends sang in chorus, and I was
anointed with the unguents of pleasure and pain:
But when
the ceremony was over, I left my Lord and came away, and my
kinsman tried to console me upon the road.
Kabîr says,
"I shall go to my Lord's house with my love at my side; then
shall I sound the trumpet of triumph!"
96
II. 75. samajh dekh man mît piyarwâ
O FRIEND, dear heart of mine, think well! if you love indeed,
then why do you sleep?
If you have found Him, then give yourself
utterly, and take Him to you.
Why do you loose Him again
and again?
If the deep sleep of rest has come to your eyes,
why waste your time making the bed and arranging the pillows?
Kabîr says: "I tell you the ways of love! Even though
the head itself must be given, why should you weep over it?"
97
III. 90. sâhab ham men, sâhab tum men
THE Lord is in me, the Lord is in you, as life is in every
seed. O servant! put false pride away, and seek for Him within
you.
A million suns are ablaze with light,
The sea of
blue spreads in the sky,
The fever of life is stilled, and
all stains are washed away; when I sit in the midst of that
world.
Hark to the unstruck bells and drums! Take your delight
in love!
Rains pour down without water, and the rivers are
streams of light.
One Love it is that pervades the whole
world, few there are who know it fully:
They are blind who
hope to see it by the light of reason, that reason which is
the cause of separation--
The House of Reason is very far
away!
How blessed is Kabîr, that amidst this
great joy he sings within his own vessel.
It is the music
of the meeting of soul with soul;
It is the music of the
forgetting of sorrows;
It is the music that transcends all
coming in and all going forth.
98
III. 98. ritu phâgun niyarânî
THE month of March draws near: ah, who will unite me to my
Lover?
How shall I find words for the beauty of my Beloved?
For He is merged in all beauty.
His colour is in all the
pictures of the world, and it bewitches the body and the mind.
Those who know this, know what is this unutterable play of the
Spring.
Kabîr says: "Listen to me, brother' there
are not many who have found this out."
99
III. 111. Nârad, pyâr so antar nâhî
OH Narad! I know that my Lover cannot be far:
When my
Lover wakes, I wake; when He sleeps, I sleep.
He is destroyed
at the root who gives pain to my Beloved.
Where they sing
His praise, there I live;
When He moves, I walk before Him:
my heart yearns for my Beloved.
The infinite pilgrimage lies
at His feet, a million devotees are seated there.
Kabîr
says: "The Lover Himself reveals the glory of true love."
100
III. 122. kôî prem kî peng jhulâo re
HANG up the swing of love to-day! Hang the body and the mind
between the arms of the Beloved, in the ecstasy of love's joy:
Bring the tearful streams of the rainy clouds to your eyes,
and cover your heart with the shadow of darkness:
Bring your
face nearer to His ear, and speak of the deepest longings of
your heart.
Kabîr says: "Listen to me, brother! bring
the vision of the Beloved in your heart."
Suggestions for Further Reading
- Info About Kabirdas
- Introduction to The Songs of Kabir
- A Brief Biography Of Kabir, the Mystic Poet Saint of India
- The Hungry Stones and Other Stories
- A Brief Biography Of Kabir, the Mystic Poet Saint of India
- The Songs of Kabir - About Kabirdas
- Gitanjali - By Tagore
- The Daily Zen Sutras
- Confucian Analects
- The Works of Mencius, Complete Text
- Tao Te Ching by Lao-tzu
- The Doctrine of the Mean by Confucius
- Words of Truth, A Prayer by Dalai Lama
- The Art of Money Getting or Golden Rules for Making Money
- Essays On Dharma
- Esoteric Mystic Hinduism
- Introduction to Hinduism
- Hindu Way of Life
- Essays On Karma
- Hindu Rites and Rituals
- The Origin of The Sanskrit Language
- Symbolism in Hinduism
- Essays on The Upanishads
- Concepts of Hinduism
- Essays on Atman
- Hindu Festivals
- Spiritual Practice
- Right Living
- Yoga of Sorrow
- Happiness
- Mental Health
- Concepts of Buddhism
- General Essays
Source: 100 songs of Kabir translated into English by Rabindranath Tagore, the first edition, published by The Macmillan Company, 1915, New York. The text has been reformatted for Hinduwebsite.com by Jayaram V who has also provided the introduction. While we have taken every care to reproduce the text accurately, we do not undertake any responsibility for any errors or inaccuracies in reproducing the text.