When shall such an opportunity come again ? The days of life soon end and the soul departeth.
Thou must leave thy pans and thy wet bobbins, and the soul will depart in anger.
Thread issueth not from the empty bobbin, and the cloth will not remain wound round the beam.
Saith the mind to reason, O wretched one, leave off this wrangling, abide with me here ; Kabir hath given this explanation.
KABIR'S HYMNS 171
The light of God has an affinity for the light of man.
Can one light which is absorbed in another be separated from it ?
May that man burst and die in whose heart the name of God springeth not up !
Dark and beautiful God, my soul is attached to Thee.
When a holy man is found, supernatural perfection is obtained ; this is both union with God and worldly enjoy ment.
When two, the guru and the disciple, meet by means of God's name, the disciple' s business is accomplished.1
People think this is a song ; it is a meditation on God,
Like the instruction given to men at Banaras when they are on the point of death.
He who attentively heareth or singeth God's name,
Saith Kabir, shall certainly obtain the supreme state at last.
Salvation can only be obtained by true devotion.
However great man's exertions without God's name, he shall be drowned in the terrible ocean and not cross over.
Thou hast practised thy religious duties and great austeri ties, yet pride consumeth thy soul.
Why hast thou forgotten the Lord who is the Giver of life and food ?
Human birth is a priceless diamond or ruby ; thou hast lost it for a kauri.
Not having thought of God in thy heart, thou sufferest from the thirst of covetousness and the hunger of error ;
The intoxication of pride deceiveth those who keep not the word of the guru in their hearts.
Sinful are they who are led away by pleasure, who are
tempted by sensual delights, and who enjoy the savour of wine.
They who by destiny keep the company of the saints, float over like iron attached to timber.
Through error I have wandered among human and lower births ; I am now weary and overspent with travail.
Saith Kabir, on meeting the guru / have felt great joy, and my love and devotion have saved me.
The deceits of the world.
Like the semblance of a female elephant, 0 foolish man, the Lord of the world made this play.1
The elephant impelled by the sweets of love is captured, O foolish man, and his head hath to endure the goad.
Flee from evil passions, attach thyself to God ; heed this advice, O foolish man.
Why dost thou not, O foolish man, fearlessly worship God, and take possession of His ship ? 2
The monkey stretcheth out his hand, O foolish man, and taketh a handful of corn ; 3
He is anxious to escape, O foolish man, but he shall be made to dance at the door of every house.
As the parrot is caught by a trap,4 O foolish man, so is man by worldly occupations.5
As the fleeting dye of the safflower, O foolish man, so hath this world been shown.
! To float thee over the terrible ocean of the world.
KABIR'S HYMNS 173
There are many places for ablutions, O foolish man, and many gods to worship.
Saith Kabir, thou shalt not be saved by means of these, 0 foolish man ; thou shalt be saved by the worship of God.
A raja offered temporal wealth to Kabir. The following was his reply—
Lay up for yourselves the wealth of God's name, which fire will not burn, which hot winds will not dry up,
And which thieves will not approach ; that wealth shall never depart.
My wealth is God, the Supporter of the earth ; He is the real wealth.
The pleasure obtained from the service of God is not to be found in regal state :
Shiv and the four sons of Brahma in their search for this wealth abandoned the world.
He in whose heart is God and on whose tongue is God, falleth not into Death's noose.
The guru's private wealth of divine knowledge and devo tion is like water to the thirsty, like a prop to the fickle mind ;
The minds of those on whom He bsstoweth it, conceive good resolutions, and their doubts, entanglements, and fears depart.
Saith Kabir, O you who are intoxicated with wealth, reflect in your hearts and understand this.
In your mansions are hundreds of thousands and millions of horses and elephants ; in mine is the one God.
The love of worldly things leads men to damna tion.
A monkey through greed will not let go the pulse in his hand.
Man is responsible for acts done through greed. Without devotion to God human life passeth in vain.
Without association with the saints and worship of God, truth nowhere abideth.
As the flowers of the desert bloom, and no one enjoyeth their odour,
So men wander idly in many births, and Death destroyeth them again and again.
God hath given wealth, youth, sons, and women fair to view ;
By these man, prompted by the senses, becometh arrested and entangled.
The body is a house of grass, life's end the fire which assaileth it on every side.
Saith Kabir, to cross over the terrible ocean I have taken the shelter of the true guru.
A brief account of the process of procreation.
There is dirty water and white earth ;
From this earth a puppet is made.
I am nothing and I have nothing ;
My body, my wealth, all that is dear to me is Thine, O God—
Into this earth breath is infused,
And forcibly setteth the false contrivance in motion.
Such and such a person may have accumulated five lakhs of treasure,
But at last his pitcher bursteth.1
Saith Kabir, the sole foundation thou hast laid
Shall be destroyed in a moment, O thou proud one.
By devotion to God through the guru Kabir has obtained salvation.
O my soul, repeat God's name As did Dhru and Prahlad of old.
O Thou compassionate to the poor, my reliance is on Thee.
KABIR'S HYMNS 175
I have therefore embarked all my family on the guru's raft.
If it please God He will have His order obeyed,
And cause this raft to float over.
By the favour of the guru such knowledge hath filled me
That all my transmigration is at an end.
Saith Kabir, worship God ;
In this world and the next, everywhere, it is He alone who knoweth.1
The soul having obtained a human body has obtained its last chance of salvation.
When man leaveth the womb and cometh into the world, As soon as the air toucheth him, he forgetteth his Master —
0 my soul, sing God's praises !
When thou didst penance reversed in the womb,
Thou didst escape its fire.
Having wandered through the eighty-four lakhs of existences,
If thou stumble now, thou shalt find nor house nor home.
Saith Kabir, worship God
Who is not seen coming or going, and who knoweth all things.
Think not of heaven or hell, of prosperity or adversity ; leave everything to God.
Long not for a dwelling in heaven, and fear not to dwell in hell;
What will be, will be ; O my soul, hope not at all.
Sing the praises of God from whom the supreme reward is obtained.
What is devotion, what penance and austerities, what fasting and ablutions,
Unless thou know the way to love and serve God ?
Be not glad at the sight of prosperity and grieve not at the sight of adversity ;
As is prosperity so is adversity ; what God proposeth shall be accomplished.
Saith Kabir, through the saints I now know in my heart
That the worshipper in whose heart God dwelleth, per- formeth the best worship.
Commit not sin for the sake of thy relations or others and mourn not for them.
0 my soul, thou hast no helper ; drag not the weight of others' sins -behind thee.
As a bird percheth on a tree, such is the world.1
1 have drunk the elixir of God
By which other elixirs are forgotten.
Since we are not permanent ourselves, why should we mourn the death of others ?
Whatever is born perisheth ; why should we be sorry and weep for that ?
When man become th attached to holy men, he drinketh God's elixir, and is devoted to Him from whom he hath sprung.
Saith Kabir, I have thought of God in my heart ; resign ing the world remember Him.
Kabir longs for God as a loving wife for her absent spouse.
Woman with her eyes filled with tears and heaving sighs awaiteth her lord ;
Her heart is not happy ; she retraceth not her steps in the hope of seeing him.
Why fliest thou not away, O black raven,2 so that I may quickly meet my beloved ?
KABIR'S HYMNS 177
Saith Kabir, perform God's service to obtain the dignity of eternal life ;
The name of God is the one support ; repeat it with thy tongue.
There are many excellences in the body ; God resides within it and Kabir is delighted to behold Him.
There are many shrubs of sweet basil ; near and within them is the village of Barsana.1
The milkmaid Radha on seeing Krishan's beauty became enamoured : ' Leave me not ; go not hither and thither.
' My heart is attached to thy feet ; O holder of the bow, very fortunate is she who meeteth thee.'
Enchanting is Bindraban where the fascinating Krishan grazed his kine.
Since thou art my Lord, O holder of the bow, Kabir (great) is my name.
Vain is the devotion of anchorets and idolaters.
How many wear the bark of trees as clothes, but what availeth it to dwell in the forest ?
What availeth it to man to offer incense to idols 1 What to drench his body with ablutions ?
O my soul, I know that thou shalt depart ;
0 silly one, think of thy fall.2
Wheresoever I look, I see none but those who are en tangled in worldly love ;
Men of divine knowledge and meditation, great preachers are all engrossed in this world's affairs.
Saith Kabir, without the name of the one God this world is blinded by mammon.
Fearlessly worship God.
0 man, victim of mammon, abandon doubt, come forth and dance.1
Doth a hero dread the conflict of the battle-field, doth a sati collect utensils when she is about to die ?
Cease to waver, O foolish man ;
Now that thou hast taken the red lead2 in thy hand, burn and die, and obtain perfection.
The world is ruined by being absorbed in lust, wrath, and mammon.
Saith Kabir, forsake not the sovereign God who is the highest of all the high.
Kabir places himself altogether in God's power.
Thy commands are acceptable to men ; I consider not their propriety.
Thou art the river, Thou art the pilot, from Thee is salva tion.
0 man, embrace the service of God, Whether He be angry with thee or love thee.
Thy name, O God, is my support, as a woman rejoice th on beholding her son.3
Saith Kabir, I am the slave of Thy house, preserve me or destroy me.
A homily against the worship of Krishan.
Nand 4 became very weary wandering through the wombs of the eighty-four lakhs of existences ;
KABIR'S HYMNS 179
Through his devotion Krishan became incarnate ; great was the poor man's good fortune.
You who say that God was the son of Nand, whose son was Nand ?
When the earth and the firmament and the ten quarters of the world were not, then where was this Nand ?
He whose name is the Bright One falleth not into trouble, and undergoeth not birth.
Kabir's Master is such a Lord as hath neither father nor mother.
Kabir hails slander to preserve his humility and lead him to God.
Slander, slander me, ye people, slander !
Slander is right pleasing to God's servant.
Slander is my father, slander my mother ; l
If I am slandered and store in my heart
The wealth of God's name, I shall go to heaven.
If I am slandered my heart becometh pure,
The slanderer washeth my clothes for me.2
He who slandereth me is my friend ;
My heart goeth out to the slanderer ;
He is the slanderer who pr event eth my being slandered.
The slanderer desireth long life for me ;
I bear love and affection to him who slandereth me ;
Slander effecteth my salvation.
To God's servant, Kabir, slander is the best thing ;
The slanderer is lost, I am saved.
Kabir feels that he has parted with egoism and become absorbed in God.
O sovereign God, Thou art very fearless ; Thou art a raft to save the world, O God.
When I was proud, Thou wert not in me ; now that Thou art in me I am not proud.
N 2
Now Thou and I have become one ; seeing that we are both one, my mind is satisfied.
When there is worldly wisdom, how can there be spiritual strength ?
Now I have spiritual wisdom, but no bodily strength.
Saith Kabir, God hath taken away my worldly wisdom, and instead of it I have obtained perfection.
The human body under the allegory of a house.
The Creator made the six mystical chambers l into a house, and in it He put a peerless thing ; 2
Without delay He made divine knowledge its key, spiritual ignorance its lock, and life its watchman.
Now, my brother, let thy mind remain awake ;
Through carelessness thou hast lost thy human life ; thy house is being robbed by thieves.3
Thy five senses stand as sentinels at the gate, but they cannot be trusted.
Carefully think of God, and thou shalt obtain the light of divine knowledge.
If woman go astray through only heeding the body of nine apertures, she shall not obtain the peerless thing — God's name.
Saith Kabir, thieves may plunder the body of nine aper tures ; God's spirit dwelleth in the tenth.
Kabir obtained perfection and complete faith on meeting the guru.
0 mother, I know none beside God ;
My soul dwelleth in that God whose praises Shiv and the sons of Brahma sing.
KABIR'S HYMNS 181
On meeting the guru enlightenment and divine knowledge entered my heart, and I meditated on God in my brain ;
The disease of the deadly sins, fear, and worldly entangle ments fled away, and my soul knew happiness in itself.
Imbued with devotion I know and obey the one God, and think of none beside.
Having abandoned the pride of my heart, my soul is perfumed with the perfume of sandal.
God dwelleth in him who hath sung and meditated on His praises.
Very fortunate are they in whose heart He dwelleth, and distinguished is the destiny recorded on their foreheads.
I have destroyed Maya,1 divine knowledge is kindled in my heart, and I have become absorbed in the one God.
Saith Kabir, on meeting the guru I have felt great comfort ; my mind hath ceased to wander and is happy.