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Songs of Kabir

<h1 id="id00045" style="margin-top: 5em">KABIR'S POEMS</h1> <h4 id="id00046" style="margin-top: 2em"> I</h4> I. 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." <h3 id="id00049" style="margin-top: 3em"> II</h3> I. 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. <h3 id="id00052" style="margin-top: 3em"> III</h3> I. 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." <h3 id="id00055" style="margin-top: 3em"> IV</h3> I. 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. <h3 id="id00058" style="margin-top: 3em"> V</h3> I. 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." <h3 id="id00061" style="margin-top: 3em"> VI</h3> I. 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. <h3 id="id00066" style="margin-top: 3em"> VII</h3> I. 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! <h3 id="id00071" style="margin-top: 3em"> VIII</h3> I. 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 to me, my Friend! My beloved Lord is within." <h3 id="id00074" style="margin-top: 3em"> IX</h3> I. 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. <h3 id="id00077" style="margin-top: 3em"> X</h3> I. 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!" <h3 id="id00080" style="margin-top: 3em"> XI</h3> I. 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." <h3 id="id00083" style="margin-top: 3em"> XII</h3> II. 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. <h3 id="id00087" style="margin-top: 3em"> XIII</h3> II. 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." <h3 id="id00090" style="margin-top: 3em"> XIV</h3> II. 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. <h3 id="id00094" style="margin-top: 3em"> XV</h3> II. 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. <h3 id="id00097" style="margin-top: 3em"> XVI</h3> II. 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. <h3 id="id00100" style="margin-top: 3em"> XVII</h3> II. 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, I 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." <h3 id="id00111" style="margin-top: 3em"> XVIII</h3> II. 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." <h3 id="id00114" style="margin-top: 3em"> XIX</h3> II. 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? <h3 id="id00117" style="margin-top: 3em"> XX</h3> II. 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." <h3 id="id00120" style="margin-top: 3em"> XXI</h3> II. 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." <h3 id="id00124" style="margin-top: 3em"> XXII</h3> II. 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!" <h3 id="id00127" style="margin-top: 3em"> XXIII</h3> II. 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." <h3 id="id00130" style="margin-top: 3em"> XXIV</h3> II. 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." <h3 id="id00133" style="margin-top: 3em"> XXV</h3> II. 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! <h3 id="id00136" style="margin-top: 3em"> XXVI</h3> II. 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. <h3 id="id00139" style="margin-top: 3em"> XXVII</h3> II. 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." <h3 id="id00142" style="margin-top: 3em"> XXVIII</h3> II. 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. <h3 id="id00145" style="margin-top: 3em"> XXIX</h3> II. 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!" <h3 id="id00149" style="margin-top: 3em"> XXX</h3> II. 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." <h3 id="id00152" style="margin-top: 3em"> XXXI</h3> II. 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. <h3 id="id00155" style="margin-top: 3em"> XXXII</h3> II. 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. <h3 id="id00158" style="margin-top: 3em"> XXXIII</h3> II. 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." <h3 id="id00161" style="margin-top: 3em"> XXXIV</h3> II. 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." <h3 id="id00164" style="margin-top: 3em"> XXXV</h3> II. 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. <h3 id="id00167" style="margin-top: 3em"> XXXVI</h3> II. 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." <h3 id="id00170" style="margin-top: 3em"> XXXVII</h3> I. 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." <h3 id="id00174" style="margin-top: 3em"> XXXVIII</h3> I. 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." <h3 id="id00177" style="margin-top: 3em"> XXXIX</h3> I. 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." <h3 id="id00180" style="margin-top: 3em"> XL</h3> I. 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." <h3 id="id00183" style="margin-top: 3em"> XLI</h3> I. 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. 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." <h3 id="id00187" style="margin-top: 3em"> XLII</h3> I. 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. <h3 id="id00190" style="margin-top: 3em"> XLIII</h3> I. 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. <h3 id="id00193" style="margin-top: 3em"> XLIV</h3> I. 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." <h3 id="id00196" style="margin-top: 3em"> XLV</h3> I. 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." <h3 id="id00199" style="margin-top: 3em"> XLVI</h3> I. 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 aether; 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." <h3 id="id00202" style="margin-top: 3em"> XLVII</h3> I. 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." <h3 id="id00205" style="margin-top: 3em"> XLVIII</h3> I. 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." <h3 id="id00208" style="margin-top: 3em"> XLIX</h3> I. 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." <h3 id="id00211" style="margin-top: 3em"> L</h3> I. 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. <div style="break-after:column;"></div>

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