XXXVIII
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."
XXXIX
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."
XL
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."
XLI
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."
XLII
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.
XLIII
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.
XLIV
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."
XLV
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."
XLVI
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."
XLVII
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."
XLVIII
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."
XLIX
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."
L
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.
LI
I. 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."
LII
I. 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."
LIII
I. 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?
LIV
I. 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."
LV
I. 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.
LVI
I. 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.
LVII
I. 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?
LVIII
I. 63. pîle pyâlâ, ho matwâlâ
Empty the Cup! O be drunken!
Drink the divine nectar of His Name!
Kabîr says: "Listen to me, dear Sadhu!
From the sole of the foot to the crown of the head this mind is
filled with poison."
LIX
I. 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.
LX
I. 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.
LXI
I. 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."
LXII
I. 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?
LXIII
I. 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.
LXIV
I. 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.
LXV
I. 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."
LXVI
I. 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!"
LXVII
I. 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?
LXVIII
III. 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."
LXIX
III. 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.
LXX
III. 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."
LXXI
III. 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!"
LXXII
III. 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.
LXXIII
III. 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."
LXXIV
III. 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.
LXXV
III. 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."
LXXVI
III. 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?"
LXXVII
III. 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.
LXXVIII
III. 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.
LXXIX
III. 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.
LXXX
III. 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.
LXXXI
III. 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.
LXXXII
III. 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.
LXXXIII
III. 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.
LXXXIV
III. 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!"
LXXXV
III. 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!"
LXXXVI
III. 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!"
LXXXVII
I. 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.
LXXXVIII
III. 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 I 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.
LXXXIX
I. 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."
XC
I. 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."
XCI
III. 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."
XCII
III. 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."
XCIII
III. 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."
XCIV
I. 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."
XCV
I. 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!"
XCVI
I. 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?"
XCVII
II. 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.
XCVIII
II. 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."
XCIX
II. 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."
C
II. 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."