By the favour of the guru Kabir hath easily escaped from her.
'Throw not pearls before swine/
What availeth it to read the Simritis to a dog ? What to sing God's praises to an infidel ?
KABIR'S HYMNS 207
Continue to repeat God's name ;
Speak not to the infidel even by mistake.
What availeth it to give a raven valuable camphor to eat?1
What to give milk to a viper ? 2
Discrimination and understanding are obtained in the company of the saints.
By the touch of the philosopher's stone iron becometh gold.
The dog of an infidel acteth in everything as he is caused to act ;
His acts are in accordance with his original destiny.
Wert thou to take nectar and water the nim-tree with it,
Saith Kabir, its natural bitter qualities would not depart.
Worldly greatness secures not salvation.
There is no trace of Rawan or his line,
Though Ceylon was his fortress and the ocean its moat.
What shall I pray for ? nothing remaineth stable ;
While I look on, the world passeth away.
Though Rawan had a lakh of sons and a lakh and a quarter of grandsons,
Yet at last he had neither lamp nor wick in his house.
The sun and moon used to heat his kitchen,3 the fire to wash his clothes.4
He who through the guru's instruction putteth God's name in his heart,
Shall remain permanent and be released from trans migration.5
Saith Kabir, hear, O ye people,0
Without the name of God there is no salvation.
Hear these wonderful things, my brethren — First a son 1 was born, and afterwards his mother ; 2 The guru3 worshipped his disciple's4 feet ; I have seen a lion 5 herding kine ; 6 A fish 7 out of water give birth upon a tree ; 8 I have seen a cat 9 taking away a dog ; 10 The branches of a tree u below, its roots 12 above ; And its trunk bearing fruit 13 and blossom ;14 A buffalo 15 on horseback going to graze a horse ; 16 An ox 17 on his way while his burden 18 arrived at home before him.
Saith Kabir, he who understandeth this hymn, Shall know everything on repeating God's name.
The soul's toil to obtain a human body shall all be lost if God be not remembered.
God maketh the body from seed and placeth it in the pit of fire ;
For ten months He keepeth it in the mother's womb ; worldly love attacheth to it on emerging.
0 mortal, why attaching thyself to covet ousness losest thou the jewel of thy life ?
In former births thou didst not sow the seed in this world :
From childhood thou hast grown to old age ; what was to be hath been.
KABIR'S HYMNS 209
When Death cometh and catcheth thee by the top-lock,1 why then weep ?
Thou hopest for longer life, while he waiteth for thy last breath —
The world is a game, O Kabir, carefully throw the dice.2
Kabir was invited to a marriage feast. He said his own marriage was being celebrated, and he could not go elsewhere. The following is a description of it.
I turned my body into a dyer's vat and then dyed my heart therein ; 3 the five virtues 4 I made my marriage guests ;
With God I made my marriage circumambulations,5 my soul being dyed with His love.
Sing, sing, ye brideswomen, the marriage song :
The sovereign God hath come to my house as my husband.
I made the bridal pavilion 6 in the lotus of my heart, and divine knowledge the recitation 7 of my lineage ;
I obtained God as my bridegroom ; so great hath been my good fortune.
Demigods, men, saints, and the thirty-three karors of gods in their chariots came as spectators
Saith Kabir, the one God, the divine Male, hath wed and taken me with Him.
In the following again Kabir represents himself as a wedded woman : —
I am plagued by my mother-in-law,1 beloved by my father-in-law ; 2 I dread the very name of my husband's eldest brother.3
0 my friends and companions, my husband's sister 4 hath seized me, and I burn by separation from my husband's youngest brother.5
My mind hath become insane since T have forgotten God ; how can I abide ?
1 behold not with mine eyes Him who enjoyeth me on the couch ; to whom shall I tell my sorrow ?
My step-father quarrelleth with me ; my mother is ever
intoxicated ; 6
As long as I remained with my elder brother 7 I was dear
to my Spouse.
Saith Kabir, I have lost my life struggling with the five
evil passions- Deceitful Maya hath led captive the whole world, but
I have obtained immunity by repeating God's name.
Mammon a thieving courtesan.
Worldly life is like a dream,
But, believing the world to be real, I attached myself to it, and abandoned the Supreme Treasure.
0 father, I made love to the courtesan mammon, And she stole from me the jewel of divine knowledge. With its eyes open the moth becometh entangled ; the
insect regardeth not the flame ;
KABIR'S HYMNS 211
So, stupid man attached to gold and -women heedeth not Death's noose.
Reflect, abandon sin ; and God will save thee.
Saith Kabir, such is the Life of the world ; He hath no equal.
Kabir has found God and put an end to his trans migration.
Though I have assumed many shapes, this is my last.1
The strings and wires of the musical instrument are all worn out ; I am now in the power of God's name ;
I shall not have again to dance to the tune of birth and death ;
Nor shall my heart accompany on the drum.2
I have taken and destroyed my bodily lust and anger ; the pitcher of avarice hath burst ;
Lust's raiment hath grown old, and all my doubts are dispelled.
I recognize one God in all creatures ; vain wranglings on this subject are at an end.
Saith Kabir, when God was gracious unto me, I obtained Him, the Perfect One.
The following was addressed to a Qazi : —
Thou fastest to appease God, yet thou destroyest life to please thy palate.3
Thou regardest not others as thou dost thyself ; why pratest thou ?
Mad on religion, thou heedest not, wherefore thy life is of no account.
P 2
Thy books tell thee that God is true, and that He is neither male nor female ;
Thou gainest nothing by thy reading and study, O mad man, since thou regardest Him not at heart:
God is concealed in every heart ; reflect on this in thy mind,
Kabir loudly proclaimeth — there is the same God for the Hindu as for the Muhammadan.
God becomes not propitious by the mere wearing of religious garbs.
I decorated myself to meet my Spouse, But God the Life and Lord of the world met me not. God is my husband, I am his wife ; He is big ; I am little.
The wife and her husband dwell together, but to cohabit is difficult.
Blessed the woman who is pleasing to her husband ; Saith Kabir, she shall not be born again.
God under the allegory of a diamond,
When the soul meeteth God,1 the once fickle mind is easily absorbed in Him.
This diamond God filleth everything with light ; I have found this by the instruction of the true guru — -
The praise of God were an endless story —
When a man becometh perfect he recognizeth the Dia mond.
Saith Kabir, I have seen such a Diamond as filleth the world with its light ;
The concealed Diamond became manifest ; when I met the guru he showed it to me.
In the following allegory Kabir refers to his early
KABIR'S HYMNS 213
understanding as his first wife and to his conversion as his second wife : —
My first wife was ugly, of low caste, and bad character, evil both in her father's house and mine.
My present wife is handsome, sensible, of good character ; I naturally took her to my heart.
It turned out well that my first wife departed ;
May she whom I have now taken live for ever !
Saith Kabir, when the young wife came I ceased to cohabit with the old one ;
The young wife is with me now, the elder hath taken another husband.
Kabir' s mother addresses him in the first four lines of the following hymn. Kabir was married to Dhania. The holy men who frequented the house called her Ramjania, or worshipper of God. But the name is also applied to courtesans dedi cated to idols, and it was consequently offensive to Kabir's mother. She also complains that Kabir had devoted himself to religion and neglected his busi ness : —
My daughter-in-law was called Dhania ;
They have now given her the name of Ramjania.
These shaven fellows have ruined my family ;
They have set my son uttering the name of God.
Saith Kabir, hear, O my mother,
These shaven men have done away with my caste.1
The following is a lecture against the veiling of women. It was addressed to the second wife of Kamal, Kabir's son :—
Stay, stay, my daughter-in-law, veil not thy face ; At the last moment it will not avail thee the eighth -of a paisa.
She who preceded thee used to veil her face ;
Follow not thou in her footsteps.
The only advantage of veiling thy face is
That for five or ten days people will say a good daughter- in-law hath come.
Thy veil will only be real
If thou sing God's praises and skip and dance in His service.
Saith Kabir, 0 daughter-in-law, thou shalt be victorious l
When thou passest thy life in singing God's praises.
Kabir Js wife Loi refused to prepare a meal for a holy visitor, upon which Kabir manifested his displeasure. The following hymn except the last two lines is Loi's pleading for forgiveness :—
Better would it be to be cut in twain with the saw than that thou shouldst turn thy back on me.
Hear my entreaty and embrace me ;
I am a sacrifice unto thee ; turn thy face towards me, my beloved.
Why killest thou me by turning thy back on me.?
Even though thou cut my body I will not turn it away from thee ; 2
My body may perish, but I will not cease to love thee.
There hath been no quarrel between thee and me ;
Thou art the same good husband and I the same wife as before.
Saith Kabir, hear, O Loi,
I shall believe in thee no longer.
The following was Kabir's reply to a Brahman who had advised him to bathe in the sacred rivers of the Hindus.
He who is foul within will not go to heaven by bathing at a place of pilgrimage :
KABIR'S HYMNS 215
Nothing is gained by pleasing men ; l God is not a simpleton.
Worship the Lord, the only God ;
Serving the guru is the true ablution,
If salvation be obtained by bathing in water, the frogs which are continually bathing will obtain it ;
But as the frogs so the pilgrims ; they shall be born again and again.
If a hardened sinner die in Banaras, he cannot escape hell.
If a saint of God die in Haramba,2 he saveth a whole multitude.
Where there is neither day nor night, Veds nor Shastars, there dwelleth the Formless One.
Saith Kabir, meditate on Himi ye foolish denizens of the world.
GUJARI
The following was addressed to a Brahman who Kabir supposed would be turned into an ox for his idleness and gluttony. The Hindus believe that they who live on others' wealth without any exer tion on their own parts will become oxen, in which condition they will have to labour and suffer for their idleness in human lives.
With four legs, two horns, and a dumb mouth, how wilt thou sing God's praises ?
Standing or lying down the stick will fall on thee ; then where wilt thou hide thy head ?
Without God thou shalt become somebody 3 else's bullock ;
Thy nose shall be torn, thy shoulders maimed, and thou shalt eat worthless straw;
All day shalt thou wander in the forest, but even then thy belly shall not be satisfied.
Thou didst not listen to the advice of holy men, and thou shalt suffer for thine omissions.
Thou hast lost thy precious life by forgetting God ; when wilt thou again have such an opportunity ?
Thou shalt turn and revolve like an oilman's bullock 1 round his press, and restless shalt thou pass the night.
Saith Kabir, for not having repeated God's name thou shalt smite thy head and repent.
Kabir's mother was distressed at his conduct in relinquishing his trade and adopting a religious life. The following is a conversation between the mother and son on the subject.
Kabir's mother sobbeth and weepeth —
And hath inscribed God's name on his body.
Kabir replieth —
While the thread was passing through the bobbin
1 forgot my Beloved God.3
My understanding is mean, my caste is that of weaver ;
I have gained the name of God as my profit.
Saith Kabir, hear, O my mother,
The one God will provide for us and them.
SORATH All are lost without devotion.
The Hindus kill themselves worshipping idols, the Musal- mans make prostrations ;
The former are burned, the latter buried ; but neither sect knoweth anything of Thee, 0 God.
KABIR'S HYMNS 217
O my soul, the world is stark blind ;
On all sides Death's noose is thrown, but men see it not.
Poets kill themselves reciting verses ; the Kaparis kill themselves going to Kedarnath ;
Jogis kill themselves wearing matted hair ; but they know nothing of Thee, 0 God.
Kings kill themselves amassing wealth and burying masses of gold ;
Pandits kill themselves reading the Veds, and women in gazing on their beauty —
Without the name of God all these are lost ; think and ponder upon this, O man.
Without the name of God who hath obtained salvation ? Kabir giveth his admonition.
The body is frail, yet it attaches itself to worldly things which desert it.
When the body is burnt, it becometh ashes ; when it is not burnt, a host of worms eat it up.
A soft clay vessel will break when water is put into it — such is the nature of the body.
Why, O brother, goest thou about puffing and blowing thyself out ?
How hast thou forgotten the ten months thou didst remain inverted in the womb ?
As the bee collecteth honey with great zest, so the fool collect eth wealth.
When a man is dead, they say ' Take him away ! take him away !
' Why allow a ghost to remain ? '
His wedded wife accompanieth him to the door, and after that his male friends.
All the other members of his family go as far as the cremation-ground ; the soul departeth alone.
Saith Kabir, hear, O mortals, they who have entangled themselves with the deceitful world,
Are seized by Death, and fall into the pit like the parrot deceived by the trap.
None may escape physical death, but it brings salvation to the holy.
Man hearing all the instructions of the Veds and the Purans, desireth to perform religious ceremonies to over come death.
Death hath seized all people, even the wise ; the pandits too depart without hope.
0 man, thou hast not succeeded in thy sole object l Since thou hast not worshipped the supreme God.
Men have gone to the forests, practised jog, performed austerities, and lived on the tubers and roots they picked up.
The Nadis,2 the readers of the Veds, the Ekshabdis, and the Monis 3 are all enrolled in Death's register.
Loving service 4 entereth not into man's heart ; he pam- pereth his body and giveth it to Death ;
He hypocritically singeth hymns, but what can he obtain from God ?
Death hath fallen on the whole world ; in his register the sceptical theologian is recorded.
Saith Kabir, they who know God's love and devotion to God are pure.5
The holy are completely saturated with God.
With both mine eyes I look, But I behold nothing save God ; Mine eyes gaze affectionately on Him ; There is now no other subject mentioned. My doubts have departed, my fear hath fled Since I applied my mind to God's name : When the Actor beateth the drum,
KABIR'S HYMNS 219
Everybody cometh to see the show.1 When the Actor collecteth the stage properties,2 He abideth alone in His happiness. Doubts are not dispelled by the use of words ; Everybody continueth to talk. God filleth the heart of him
To whom through the guru's instruction He hath revealed Himself.
When the guru bestoweth even a little kindness, Bodies and minds are all absorbed in God. Saith Kabir, I am dyed with the dye of God, And have found the munificent Life of the world.
Man under the allegory of a milkmaid is won by the guru from neglect of God.
The words of the sacred texts are as seas of milk :
For that ocean let the guru be the churning-staff.
Be thou the churner of that milk ;
Why shouldst thou be despoiled of thy butter ?
0 damsel, why makest thou not God thy husband ?
He is the life of the world and the support of the soul.
The strait collar 3 is on thy neck and chains on thy feet ;
God hath sent thee wandering from birth to birth.
Thou heedest not even yet, O damsel ;
Thou art the wretched victim of Death.
It is God who acteth and causeth men to act ;
What power hath the poor handmaiden ?
The damsel whom God awaketh
Attendeth to the duties He assigneth her.
0 damsel, where hast thou obtained that wisdom By which thou hast erased the line of doubt ? Kabir feeleth great delight,
And by his guru's favour his mind is happy.
In reply to an inquiry Kabir describes the happi ness he obtained from humility and devotion.
When He without whom one cannot live
Is found, man's toil is productive.
Men call it a good thing to live for ever,
But there is no life without death.1
Where divine knowledge is discussed what more remaineth to be said ? 2
As we look on, the things of this world pass away ;
As men rub and mix saffron and sandal, so man's soul is blended with God,
And thus seeth the world without bodily eyes.3
Abandonment of the world as a father hath begotten divine knowledge as a son.
Though placed in an unsubstantial city,4
I a beggar have found the Giver.
He hath given me so much that I cannot eat it ;
I cannot leave off eating 5 or finish it ;
And I have ceased to go to strangers.
The elect who know life to be death,
Have obtained a mountain of happiness.
Kabir hath obtained that wealth,
And effaced his pride on meeting God.
The lamp of holiness, not the Veds and Purans, lights up man's heart.
What availeth reading, what studying, What hearing the Veds and Purans ? What avail reading and listening If divine knowledge be not obtained ?
The world appeareth to have no eyes.
KABIR'S HYMNS 221
Thou repeatest not the name of God, O ignorant man ;
Every moment of what thinkest thou ?
A lamp 1 is required in this darkness
To find the One Incomprehensible Thing.2
The lamp hath lit up my heart,
And I have found the Incomprehensible Thing.
Saith Kabir, I now recognize Him ;
And when I recognize Him my mind is happy.
People do not believe that my mind is happy ;
But even if they do not, of what consequence is it ?
The following was addressed to a hypocritical Brahman who advised Kabir to bathe at Hindu places of pilgrimage.
In thy heart is deception, in thy mouth religion ; False man, why churnest thou water ? What advantage is it to bathe the body If there be filth in the heart ?
It the gourd be washed at the sixty-eight places of pil grimage,
Even then its bitterness will not depart.
Thus saith Kabir deliberately —
Cause me to cross over the terrible ocean, O God.
Men should not practise deceit for the advantage of relations.