The quoted lines are lit below.
Everything connected with the three worlds is contained in the fifty-two letters ;
These letters shall perish, but He who is beyond letters is not in them.
Where there is speech, there letters are used ; Where there is no speech there no mind abideth. God is contained both where there is speech and where there is not ;
Nobody appeareth like unto Him.2
If I obtain God, what shall I say ? and if I say anything, what kindness do I show God,
Who is diffused through the three worlds as well as in the tiny seed of the banyan-tree ? x
For him who hath obtained God, and knoweth to some extent God's secret, the difference between God and himself hath disappeared.
God's secret penetrated my heart when it turned away from the world\ and I have obtained Him who is Indestructible and Impenetrable.
The Musalmans accept the Tariqat ; the Hindus the Veds and Purans ; but for me the books of both religions are useless.
A man ought to study divine knowledge to some extent to instruct his heart.
I know the one God who was in the beginning ;
I do not believe in what can be written and erased.
Whoever beholdeth the one God,
Becometh as God, and shall not pass away.
K. When the rays of divine knowledge fall on the lotus of the heart,
It closeth not even at the rising of the moon ; 2 And if man obtain the sweetness of that flower, He would grow mute in describing it, yea, to whom could he explain it ?
KH. My mind hath entered God's cave ; 3
It leaveth it not to wander in every direction. He who, knowing the Master, practiseth resignation, Shall become imperishable, and obtain the imperishable dignity.
KABIR'S HYMNS 183
G. They who understand the guru's instruction, Lend their ears to nothing else.
He who graspeth the Ungraspable,1 and having grasped Him keepeth Him in his brain, Shall abide wealthless as a bird, and wander nowhere.
GH. God's dwelling is in every heart ;
Even though the heart break, God is never thereby diminished.
When man findeth a way to God in his heart, Why should he leave that way and follow a difficult one ?
NG. Grasp the love of God, dismiss doubts.
Even though thou see no way to God, flee not away; this is the highest cleverness.
CH. God painted the great picture of the world ; Dismiss the picture, and think of the Painter. This painted picture is an abode of strife ; Dismiss the picture, and keep thy mind on the Painter.
CHH. God the Lord of the umbrella is near ;
Why dost thou not abandon desires and be happy ? O man, I admonish thee every moment ; Why dost thou leave God and entangle thyself with the world ?
J. If a man burn his body alive,
And efface his youth, he shall find the right way. When man burneth the wealth of this and the next world,2
He shall then proceed and obtain God's bright light.
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JH. Thou art entangled with the world, and knowest not how to disentangle thyself ;
Thou shrinkest back, and art not accepted of God. Why talk nonsense trying to convince others ? Since thou stirrest up controversy, controversy thou shalt have.
NY. Since God dwelleth near thee in thy heart, why leave Him and go far to find Him ? x
Him for whom thou searchest the world, thou shalt find near thee.
T. The difficult way to God is in man's heart.
Why open not the doors of thine understanding, and
repair to His court ?
There shalt thou behold the Immovable One, and thou
shalt not move elsewhere.
Thou shalt remain attached to God, and thy heart shall
be glad.
TH. Keep the world, which is a deceitful mirage, at a
distance —
I have with difficulty rendered my mind patient— The cheat which cheated and devoured the whole world I have myself cheated, and my mind is now at ease.
D. When the fear of God is produced, all other fears depart ; All other fears are absorbed in that fear. If man reject the fear of God, then he hath fear of man ; When he no longer feareth man, the fears of his heart flee away.
DH. Search for God near thee ; why search elsewhere ? While searching for Him elsewhere life departeth. When I ascended the mountain to search for Him, and returned home disappointed,
KABIR'S HYMNS 185
I found Him in the fortress1 which He Himself had made.
N. The life of him is accounted happy
Who, though surrounded in the battle-field, standeth fast like a man,2
Who doth not quail or retreat,3
But killeth the opposing chief, upon which his army fleeth away.4
T. The world is unfordable ; it cannot be forded.
My soul is absorbed in the Lord of the three worlds. If the Lord of the three worlds enter into my heart, My soul shall blend with Him, and I shall find the True One.
TH. The Unfathomable cannot be fathomed.
God is unfathomable ; this body shall not abide for ever. Though man's span of life be brief, he beginneth to build many a mansion 5 —
But can mansions be supported without pillars ?
D. Everything we see is perishable ; Meditate on Him who is Unseen.
When thou appliest the key of divine knowledge to the tenth gate,
Thou shalt then behold the merciful One.
DH. Everything is settled when the soul blendeth with
God
Who dwelleth in earth and heaven.
When the soul leaving earth goeth to heaven,
The soul and God shall meet and happiness be obtained.
N. Man's nights and days pass away waiting for God ; His eyes grow blood-shot by such waiting. When man findeth God after long waiting, He who waiteth is blended with Him who is waited for.
P. The Boundless One hath no bounds ;
I am gladdened with the Supreme Light ;
I have controlled the five senses,
And relinquished all idea of dements and merits.
PH. Fruit is produced without the blossom ; * If any one looked at a section 2 of that fruit, And reflected on it, he would not contract duality. That section of fruit shall destroy all bodies.3
B. Blend drop with drop,4
When drop is blended with drop, both cannot be separated. Let man, becoming God's servant, embrace His service, And He becoming a friend will take care of His ser vant.
BH. Remove the difference between thyself and God, and thou shalt be united with Him ;
Then shall thy fear be shattered, and thou shalt gain confidence.
Him whom I thought without me I now find within me : When I found this secret, I recognized the Lord of the world.
KABIR'S HYMNS 187
M. He who graspeth the First Principle,1 shall be happy at heart ;
He who is in this secret knoweth his own mind. Let no one delay to attach his heart to God ; He who obtaineth the True One shall be immersed in delight.
M. Man's business is with his heart ; he who chasteneth it obtaineth perfection.
Kabir communeth with his heart, ' I have found nothing like thee, 0 my heart ! '
This heart is power ; this mind is God ; 2 This heart is the life of the five elements of the body. If man restrain his heart and remain in a state of ex altation,3
He can tell the secrets of the three worlds.
Y. If thou know anything, destroy thine evil propensities and conquer the citadel of the body ;
Thou who art surrounded by foes in battle and fleest not away, shalt be called a hero.
R. He knoweth the real pleasure, who spurneth the pleasures of this world ;
Having spurned the pleasures of the world he recog- nizeth the Real Pleasure ;
When he abandoneth the former, he obtaineth the latter ; And when he quaffeth the latter, the former please him not.
i88 BHAGATS OF THE GRANTH SAHIB
L. O man, so apply thy heart to God,
That thou mayest not go elsewhere, but obtain the primal True One.
If thou heartily love Him,
Thou shalt obtain Him, and, obtaining Him, become absorbed in His feet.
W. Every moment remember God ;
Remember God and defeat shall not come to thee. I am a sacrifice to those who sing the praises of the sons of God1;
He who meeteth God shall obtain all truth.
W. Know God ; by knowing Him thou shalt become as He. When the soul and God are blended, no one can dis tinguish them.
S. Carefully strive to know Him ;
Restrain every thought which allureth the heart. When love for God springeth up, there is mental happi ness,
And the Lord of the three worlds will fill thy heart.
KH. He who searcheth,
He who searcheth for God shall not return.
He who searcheth and knoweth God by meditation,
Shall cross over the terrible ocean without delay.
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SH. She who dispelleth all doubts of her spouse's affection for her,
Shall adorn his bed.
She resigneth a little comfort and obtaineth the highest gratification.
Then is she justly styled a wife and he a husband.
^ 1 Bishantana, an equivalent of the Persian ahl-i-khuda — sons of God, saints.
KABIR'S HYMNS 189
H. God existeth, but the spiritually ignorant know not of His existence.
From the moment man knoweth that God existeth his heart is satisfied.
God certainly doth exist, if any one could see Him ; But in that case God alone would exist, and man exist not at all.
Everybody goeth about saying, ' I will take this, and I will take that.'
They therefore feel great sorrow when they are dis appointed.
He who fixeth his attention on God,
Shall obtain all happiness and his sorrows shall depart.
KSH. How many have pined away and perished !
But, despite such destruction, man will not even now think of God.
If any one even now know that the world is fleeting and restrain his heart,
He shall obtain an abiding place with Him from whom he is separated.
The Pandits have in another way joined the fifty-two letters,
But they cannot recognize one letter.1 Kabir uttereth the word of the True One — He is a pandit who abideth without fear- To join letters 2 is the business of the Pandits ; To meditate on God is the business of the holy man. Saith Kabir, man will understand which to do According to his intelligence.
igo BHAGATS OF THE GRANTH SAHIB
Kabir's calendar is arranged according to lunar days. The lunar month has thirty days. Fifteen of them are called shudi, the light half, and the other fifteen wadi, the dark half of the month. In this composition, however, sixteen days are counted.
KABIR'S LUNAR DAYS
There are fifteen lunar days and seven week days. Saith Kabir, they have no limits.1 The Strivers and Sidhs who know their secrets, Are creators and gods themselves.
On the day when there is no moon remove worldly desires ; Remember God the Searcher of hearts, So shalt thou even in life obtain the gate of salvation, And the real word of the Fearless One, which is the essence
of everything.
He who loveth God's lotus feet, And is night and day watchful in His praises, becometh
pure in heart by the favour of the saints.
On the first day of the moon meditate on the Beloved ; He who cannot be lessened, and who hath no equal, sport eth in the heart.
He who is absorbed in the primal God, Shall never suffer the pain of death.
On the second day know that there are two parts of the body,
Maya and God,2 who are contained in everything. God doth not increase or diminish ; He is unknowable, spotless, and changeless.
KABIR'S HYMNS 191
On the third day let man apply his mind to God in the three states of waking, dreaming, and sleeping 1
Thus shall he obtain the Root of Joy and the Supreme Delight.
In the company of the saints ariseth the faith in man
That God's light is ever within and without him.
On the fourth day restrain thy fickle mind ; Never associate with lust and anger. God is all in all in sea and land ; He repeateth His own praises.2
On the fifth day know that the world was extended from the five elements,
And that the pursuit of gold and women form its occupa tion.
Whoever quaffeth the nectar of God's love,
Shall not again feel the pains of old age and death.
On the sixth day the mind and the senses run in six directions ;
The mind will not be restrained without the love of God.
Efface duality and hold fast endurance ;
Endure not the torture of absurd religious ceremonies.
On the seventh day know that the Word is true, And the Supreme Spirit will hold thee accepted ; So shall thy doubts and troubles be effaced, And thou shalt obtain happiness in the celestial sea.