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Neither am I righteous nor non-righteous
Neither am I an ascetic nor a sensualist
Neither do I speak nor do I listen
Neither am I a servant nor a master
Neither am I constrained nor Liberated
Neither am I sad nor jubilant
Neither am I distinctly isolated from anything
Nor am I Identified completely with anything
Neither do I go to the world of hell
Nor do I proceed to the world of heaven
All actions are really my actions
But yet I am distinct from the actions
This truth only a rare exceptional one realizes
Such a person sits in quiescence
Oh Kabīr don't bring forth any creation
And don't efface anything either
Oh Deer Graze With Knowledge and
Discrimination
Graze in the First Forest, Graze in the Second Forest
But Don't Tread into the Third Forest
The Third Forest has Five Hunters
Don't Let them See You
Five Deer and Twenty Five Female Deer
None Among them is Sensible and Shrewd
Killing You They Will Sell Your Flesh
Your Skin will be Used as a Covering
Says Kabīr: "Listen Oh Practicing Aspirant -
Offer your Mind."
What to say of talks
that lead to veiling of Truth
Too much talk leads to chaos yet without talk how does one discuss
If you must; then talk with saints
With devils it is better to stay mum
Blessing it is to talk with the wise, talking with stupid is waste of time
Says Kabīr: "Half full is forever swaying
The fulfilled prefers staying calm."
Fearlessly I Will Sing the Attributes of the One without Attributes using the Base Lotus as the Steady Seat
I Will Make the Wind Rise in Reverse steadying the Mind's Attachments
I Will Unify the Five Elements, Ingila, Pingala and Sukhman are the Channels
I Will Bathe at the Confluence of the Three Rivers
The Five and Twenty Five I Will Master by my Wish
And String them Together by One Common Thread
At the Summit of Aloneness the Un-struck Anahad Sound Reverberates
I Will Play the Thirty-Six Different Symphonies
Says Kabīr: "Listen Oh Practicing Aspirant,
I Will Wave the Flag of Victory"
Kabīr implies that by dividing men into castes, clans and creeds encourage
quarrels and feads.
Better than the Brahmin is a donkey who does useful service
to man, a dog is better than a low caste as it guards the house,
a cock is better
than a Mullah who wakes up a man from his sleep
The night you passed in sleep
and the day in visiting your false friends;
Alas! Thus
have you wasted the diamond of your life on naught.
You will die one day, perhaps tomorrow;
grass will grow on your tomb,
and your friends will forget you.
Therefore know your soul soon.
Whom will the son of a harlot call his father?
Worship God in your being and do not waste your life.
Your body is like a jar of unbaked clay;
It may break to pieces any momentand all will be over, nowhere is there delight except in God.
This world is a house made of wood, and, lo! it is burning furiously;
He who stays in it dies.
The Yogi withdraws from it in meditationand he is saved.
Thy birth as man is a ripe fruitwhich is seen
only once; make the most of the practice of devotion and compassionand the acquisition of true Knowledge.
O Kabīr, there is a way out of this illusory world:
Know the soul at any cost.
Listen to the sermon of the Lord, O mind, and enshrine the Shabad of His Word within your mind.
If your intellect remains stable and steady, then doubt shall depart from within you.
The sixty-eight places of pilgrimage remain with one, whose heart is filled with the Lord.
Bhagat Kabīr ji, a deep devotee of the Absolute One, discarded his bodily vesture reciting:
Kabīr, nothing is mine within myself. Whatever there is, is Yours, O Lord.
If I surrender to You what is already Yours, what does it cost me?
The mother thinks that her son is growing up; she does not understand that, day by day, his life is diminishing.
Calling him, "Mine, mine", she fondles him lovingly, while the Messenger of Death looks on and laughs.
You have misled the world so deeply in doubt.
How can people understand You, when they are entranced by
Maya?
Says Kabīr: "Give up the pleasures of corruption, or else you will surely die of them.
Meditate on the Lord, O mortal being, through the Word of His Bani; you shall be blessed with eternal life. In this way, shall you cross over the terrifying world-ocean.
As it pleases Him, people embrace love for the Lord,
and doubt and delusion are dispelled from within.
Intuitive peace and poise well up within, and the intellect is awakened to spiritual wisdom.
By Guru's Grace, the inner being is touched by the Lord's Love.
In this association, there is no death.
Recognizing the Hukam of His Command, you shall meet with
your Lord and Master.
Siree Raag, Devotee Kabīr Jee: "Listen, O religious scholar: the One Lord alone is Wondrous; no one can describe Him.
He fascinates the angels, the celestial singers and the heavenly musicians; he has strung the three worlds upon His Thread.
The Unstruck Melody of the Sovereign Lord's Harp vibrates;
by His Glance of Grace, we are lovingly attuned to the Sound-current of the Naad.
The Tenth Gate of my crown chakra is the distilling fire, and the channels of the Ida and Pingala are the funnels, to pour in and empty out the golden vat.
Into that vat, there trickles a gentle stream of the most sublime and pure essence of all distilled essences.
Something wonderful has happened-the breath has become the cup.
In all the three worlds, such a Yogi is unique. What king can compare to him?
This spiritual wisdom of God, the Supreme Soul, has illuminated my being.
Says Kabīr
, I am attuned to His Love.
All the rest of the world is deluded by doubt, while my mind is intoxicated with the Sublime Essence of the Lord.
Wisdom is not produced in Kashi, nor is wisdom lost in
Kashi.
Meeting the True Guru, wisdom is produced, and then, one
obtains this understanding.
Listen to the sermon of the Lord, O mind, and enshrine the
Shabad of His Word within your mind.
If your intellect remains stable and steady, then doubt
shall depart from within you.
The sixty-eight places of pilgrimage remain with one, whose
heart is filled with the Lord.
Bhagat Kabir ji, a deep devotee of the Absolute One,
discarded his bodily vesture reciting:
Kabīr, nothing is mine within myself. Whatever there is, is
Yours, O Lord.
If I surrender to You what is already Yours, what does it
cost me?
I was on fire, but now I have found the Water of the Lord's
Name.
This Water of the Lord's Name has cooled my burning body.
To subdue their minds, some go off into the forests;
but that Water is not found without the Lord God.
That fire has consumed angels and mortal beings,
but the Water of the Lord's Name saves His humble servants
from burning.
In the terrifying world-ocean, there is an ocean of peace.
I continue to drink it in, but this Water is never
exhausted.
Says Kabīr, meditate and vibrate upon the Lord, like the
rainbird remembering the water.
O Lord, my thirst for the Water of Your Name will not go away.
The fire of my thirst burns even more brightly in that Water.
You are the Ocean of Water, and I am just a fish in that Water.
In that Water, I remain; without that Water, I would perish.
You are the cage, and I am Your parrot.
So what can the cat of death do to me?
You are the tree, and I am the bird.
I am so unfortunate - I cannot see the Blessed Vision of Your Darshan!
You are the True Guru, and I am Your new disciple.
Says Kabīr, O Lord, please meet me - this is my very last chance!
When I realize that there is One, and only One Lord,
why then should the people be upset?
I am dishonored; I have lost my honor.
No one should follow in my footsteps.
I am bad, and bad in my mind as well.
I have no partnership with anyone.
I have no shame about honor or dishonor.
But you shall know, when your own false covering is laid bare.
Says Kabīr , honor is that which is accepted by the Lord.
Give up everything - meditate, vibrate upon the Lord alone.
If Yoga could be obtained by wandering around naked, then all the deer of the forest would be liberated.
What does it matter whether someone goes naked, or wears a deer skin,
if he does not remember the Lord within his soul?
If the spiritual perfection of the Siddhas could be obtained by shaving the head,
then why haven't sheep found liberation?
If someone could save himself by celibacy, O Siblings of Destiny,
why then haven't eunuchs obtained the state of supreme dignity?
Says Kabīr , listen, O men, O Siblings of Destiny:
without the Lord's Name, who has ever found salvation?
Those who take their ritual baths in the evening and the morning
are like the frogs in the water.
When people do not love the Lord's Name,
they must all go to the Righteous Judge of Dharma.
Those who love their bodies and try differentlooks,
do not feel compassion, even in dreams.
The wise men call them four-footed creatures;
the Holy find peace in this ocean of pain.
Says Kabīr , why do you perform so many rituals?
Renounce everything, and drink in the supreme essence of the
Lord.
What use is chanting, and what use is penance, fasting or devotional worship,
to one whose heart is filled with the love of duality?
O humble people, link your mind to the Lord.
Through cleverness, the four-armed Lord is not obtained.
Set aside your greed and worldly ways.
Set aside sexual desire, anger and egotism.
Ritual practices bind people in egotism;
meeting together, they worship stones.
Says Kabīr, He is obtained only by devotional worship.
Through innocent love, the Lord is met.
In the dwelling of the womb, there is no ancestry or social status.
All have originated from the Seed of God.
Tell me, O Pandit, O religious scholar: since when have you been a Brahmin?
Don't waste your life by continually claiming to be a Brahmin.
If you are indeed a Brahmin, born of a Brahmin mother,
then why didn't you come by some other way?
How is it that you are a Brahmin, and I am of a low social status?
How is it that I am formed of blood, and you are made of milk?
Says Kabīr , one who contemplates God,
is said to be a Brahmin among us.
In the darkness, no one can sleep in peace.
The king and the pauper both weep and cry.
As long as the tongue does not chant the Lord's Name,
the person continues coming and going in reincarnation, crying out in pain.
It is like the shadow of a tree; when the breath of life passes out of the mortal being, tell
me, what becomes of his wealth?
It is like the music contained in the instrument;
how can anyone know the secret of the dead?
Like the swan on the lake, death hovers over the body.
Drink in the Lord's sweet elixir, Kabīr .
The creation is born of the Light, and the Light is in the
creation.
It bears two fruits: the false glass and the true pearl.
Where is that home, which is said to be free of fear?
There, fear is dispelled and one lives without fear.
On the banks of sacred rivers, the mind is not appeased.
People remain entangled in good and bad deeds.
Sin and virtue are both the same.
In the home of your own being, is the Philosopher's Stone;
renounce your search for any other virtue.
Kabīr: O worthless mortal, do not lose the Naam, the Name
of the Lord.
Keep this mind of yours involved in this involvement.
He claims to know the Lord, who is beyond measure and beyond
thought;
by mere words, he plans to enter heaven.
I do not know where heaven is.
Everyone claims that he plans to go there.
By mere talk, the mind is not appeased.
The mind is only appeased, when egotism is conquered.
As long as the mind is filled with the desire for heaven,
he does not dwell at the Lord's Feet.
Says Kabīr , unto whom should I tell this?
The Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, is heaven.
We are born, and we grow, and having grown, we pass away.
Before our very eyes, this world is passing away.
How can you not die of shame, claiming, "This world is
mine"?
At the very last moment, nothing is yours.
Trying various methods, you cherish your body,
but at the time of death, it is burned in the fire.
You apply sandalwood oil to your limbs,
but that body is burned with the firewood.
Says Kabīr , listen, O virtuous people:
your beauty shall vanish, as the whole world watches.
Why do you cry and mourn, when another person dies?
Do so only if you yourself are to live.
I shall not die as the rest of the world dies,
for now I have met the life-giving Lord.
People anoint their bodies with fragrant oils,
and in that pleasure, they forget the supreme bliss.
There is one well, and five water-carriers.
Even though the rope is broken, the fools continue trying to
draw water.
Says Kabīr , through contemplation, I have obtained this one
understanding.
There is no well, and no water-carrier.
The mobile and immobile creatures, insects and moths
- in numerous lifetimes, I have passed through those many
forms.
I lived in many such homes, O Lord,
before I came into the womb this time.
I was a Yogi, a celibate, a penitent, and a Brahmchaaree,
with strict self-discipline.
Sometimes I was a king, sitting on the throne, and sometimes
I was a beggar.
The faithless cynics shall die, while the Saints shall all
survive.
They drink in the Lord's Ambrosial Essence with their
tongues.
Says Kabīr , O God, have mercy on me.
I am so tired; now, please bless me with Your perfection.
Kabīr has seen such wonders!
Mistaking it for cream, the people are churning water.
The donkey grazes upon the green grass;
arising each day, he laughs and brays, and then dies.
The bull is intoxicated, and runs around wildly.
He romps and eats and then falls into hell.
Says Kabīr , a strange sport has become manifest:
the sheep is sucking the milk of her lamb.
Chanting the Lord's Name, my intellect is enlightened.
Says Kabīr , the Guru has blessed me with this
understanding.
I am like a fish out of water,
because in my previous life, I did not practice penance and
intense meditation.
Now tell me, Lord, what will my condition be?
I left Benares - I had little common sense.
I wasted my whole life in the city of Shiva;
at the time of my death, I moved to Magahar.
For many years, I practiced penance and intense meditation
at Kaashi;
now that my time to die has come, I have come to dwell at
Magahar!
Kaashi and Magahar - I consider them the same.
With inadequate devotion, how can anyone swim across?
Says Kabīr , the Guru and Ganaysha and Shiva all know
that Kabīr died chanting the Lord's Name.
You may anoint your limbs with sandalwood oil,
but in the end, that body will be burned with the firewood.
Why should anyone take pride in this body or wealth?
They shall end up lying on the ground; they shall not go
along with you to the world beyond.
They sleep by night and work during the day,
but they do not chant the Lord's Name, even for an instant.
They hold the string of the kite in their hands, and chew
betel leaves in their mouths,
but at the time of death, they shall be tied up tight, like
thieves.
Through the Guru's Teachings, and immersed in His Love, sing
the Glorious Praises of the Lord.
Chant the Name of the Lord, Raam, Raam, and find peace.
In His Mercy, He implants the Naam within us;
inhale deeply the sweet aroma and fragrance of the Lord,
Har, Har.
Says Kabīr , remember Him, you blind fool!
The Lord is True; all worldly affairs are false.
I have turned away from death and turned to the Lord.
Pain has been eliminated, and I dwell in peac and comfort.
My enemies have been transformed into friends.
The faithless cynics have been transformed into good-hearted
people.
Now, I feel that everything brings me peace.
Peace and tranquility have come, since I realized the Lord
of the Universe.
My body was afflicted with millions of diseases.
They have been transformed into the peaceful, tranquil
concentration of Samaadhi.
When someone understands his own self,
he no longer suffers from illness and the three fevers.
My mind has now been restored to its original purity.
When I became dead while yet alive, only then did I come to
know the Lord.
Says Kabīr , I am now immersed in intuitive peace and poise.
I do not fear anyone, and I do not strike fear into anyone
else.
When the body dies, where does the soul go?
It is absorbed into the untouched, unstruck melody of the
Word of the Shabad.
Only one who knows the Lord realizes Him.
The mind is satisfied and satiated, like the mute who eats
the sugar candy and just smiles, without speaking.
Such is the spiritual wisdom which the Lord has imparted.
O mind, hold your breath steady within the central channel
of the Sushmanaa.
Adopt such a Guru, that you shall not have to adopt another
again.
Dwell in such a state, that you shall never have to dwell in
any other.
Embrace such a meditation, that you shall never have to
embrace any other.
Die in such a way, that you shall never have to die again.
Turn your breath away from the left channel, and away from
the right channel,
and unite them in the central channel of the Sushmanaa.
At their confluence within your mind, take your bath there
without water.
To look upon all with an impartial eye - let this be your
daily occupation.
Contemplate this essence of reality - what else is there to
contemplate?
Water, fire, wind, earth and ether
- adopt such a way of life and you shall be close to the
Lord.
Says Kabīr , meditate on the Immaculate Lord.
Go to that home, which you shall never have to leave.
He cannot be obtained by offering your weight in gold.
But I have bought the Lord by giving my mind to Him.
Now I recognize that He is my Lord.
My mind is intuitively pleased with Him.
Brahma spoke of Him continually, but could not find His
limit.
Because of my devotion to the Lord, He has come to sit
within the home of my inner being.
Says Kabīr , I have renounced my restless intellect.
It is my destiny to worship the Lord alone.
That death which terrifies the entire world - the nature of that death has been revealed to me, through
the Word of the Guru's Shabad.
Now, how shall I die? My mind has already accepted death.
Those who do not know the Lord, die over and over again, and
then depart.
Everyone says, "I will die, I will die."
But he alone becomes immortal, who dies with intuitive
understanding.
Says Kabīr , my mind is filled with bliss;
my doubts have been eliminated, and I am in ecstasy.
There is no special place where the soul aches; where should
I apply the ointment?
I have searched the body, but I have not found such a place.
He alone knows it, who feels the pain of such love;
the arrows of the Lord's devotional worship are so sharp!
I look upon all His soul-brides with an impartial eye;
how can I know which ones are dear to the Husband Lord?
Says Kabīr , one who has such destiny inscribed upon her
forehead
- her Husband Lord turns all others away, and meets with
her.
One who has the Lord as his Master, O Siblings of Destiny
- countless liberations knock at his door.
If I say now that my trust is in You alone, Lord,
then what obligation do I have to anyone else?
He bears the burden of the three worlds;
why should He not cherish you also?
Says Kabīr , through contemplation, I have obtained this one
understanding.
If the mother poisons her own child, what can anyone do?
Without Truth, how can the woman be a true satee - a widow
who burns herself on her husband's funeral pyre?
O Pandit, O religious scholar, see this and contemplate it
within your heart.
Without love, how can one's affection increase?
As long as there is attachment to pleasure, there can be no
spiritual love.
One who, in his own soul, believes the Queen Maya to be
true,
does not meet the Lord, even in dreams.
One who surrenders her body, mind, wealth, home and self
- she is the true soul-bride, says Kabīr.
The whole world is engrossed in corruption.
This corruption has drowned entire families.
O man, why have you wrecked your boat and sunk it?
You have broken with the Lord, and joined hands with
corruption.
Angels and human beings alike are burning in the raging
fire.
The water is near at hand, but the beast does not drink it
in.
By constant contemplation and awareness, the water is
brought forth.
That water is immaculate and pure, says Kabīr.
That family, whose son has no spiritual wisdom or
contemplation
- why didn't his mother just become a widow?
That man who has not practiced devotional worship of the
Lord
- why didn't such a sinful man die at birth?
So many pregnancies end in miscarriage - why was this one
spared?
He lives his life in this world like a deformed amputee.
Says Kabīr , without the Naam, the Name of the Lord,
beautiful and handsome people are just ugly hunch-backs.
I am forever a sacrifice to those humble beings who take the
Name of their Lord and Master.
Those who sing the Glorious Praises of the Pure Lord are
pure.
They are my Siblings of Destiny, so dear to my heart.
I am the dust of the lotus feet of those whose hearts are
filled with the All-pervading Lord.
I am a weaver by birth, and patient of mind.
Slowly, steadily, Kabīr chants the Glories of God.
From the Sky of the Tenth Gate, the nectar trickles down,
distilled from my furnace.
I have gathered in this most sublime essence, making my body
into firewood.
He alone is called intoxicated with intuitive peace and
poise,
who drinks in the juice of the Lord's essence, contemplating
spiritual wisdom.
Intuitive poise is the bar-maid who comes to serve it.
I pass my nights and days in ecstasy.
Through conscious meditation, I linked my consciousness with
the Immaculate Lord.
Says Kabīr , then I obtained the Fearless Lord.
The natural tendency of the mind is to chase the mind.
Who has established himself as a Siddha, a being of miraculous
spiritual powers, by killing his mind?
Who is that silent sage, who has killed his mind?
By killing the mind, tell me, who is saved?
Everyone speaks through the mind.
Without killing the mind, devotional worship is not
performed.
Says Kabīr , one who knows the secret of this mystery,
beholds within his own mind the Lord of the three worlds.
The stars which are seen in the sky
- who is the painter who painted them?
Tell me, O Pandit, what is the sky attached to?
Very fortunate is the knower who knows this.
The sun and the moon give their light;
God's creative extension extends everywhere.
Says Kabīr , he alone knows this,
whose heart is filled with the Lord,
and whose mouth is also
filled with the Lord.
The Simritee is the daughter of the Vedas, O Siblings of
Destiny.
She has brought a chain and a rope.
She has imprisoned the people in her own city.
She has tightened the noose of emotional attachment and shot
the arrow of death.
By cutting, she cannot be cut, and she cannot be broken.
She has become a serpent, and she is eating the world.
Before my very eyes, she has plundered the entire world.
Says Kabīr , chanting the Lord's Name, I have escaped her.
I have grasped the reins and attached the bridle;
abandoning everything, I now ride through the skies.
I made self-reflection my mount,
and in the stirrups of intuitive poise, I placed my feet.
Come, and let me ride you to heaven.
If you hold back, then I shall strike you with the whip of
spiritual love.
Says Kabīr , those who remain detached from the Vedas, the
Koran and the Bible are the best riders.
Kabīr, the Lord is like musk; all His slaves are like
bumble bees.
'When I was, Hari was not,
now Hari is and I am no more:
All darkness vanished, When
I saw the Lamp within my heart.
The effulgance of the supreme
Being is beyond the imagination:
Ineffable is His beauty,
to see it is the only `proof'.
It was a good thing the
hail fell to ground, for it lost its own selfhood:
Melting, it turned into
water and rolled down to the pond.
Him whom I went out to seek,
I found just where I was:
He now has become myself
whom before I called `Another'!
This union with the guru,
O Kabir, Sets me free;
like salt mingled With flour,
I am no more I!
Now I have no caste, no
creed, I am no more what I am!
O dear brother! By what
name would you call me? The little chador is woven
very thin, very delicate.
Of what is the warp, of
what is the weft?
With whose thread is the
chador woven?
idā is the warp and
pingalā is the weft.
With the thread of suShumna
the chador is woven.
The eight-petaled lotus
is the spinning wheel.
The chador is made of the
five elements and the three qualities (gunas).
For ten months the Lord
keeps making it.
Tamping it down well, He
weaves the chador.
That chador covers deities,
men, and sages.
When they've wrapped it
round, they make the chador dirty.
Das Kabir has carefully
covered himself.
He took good care of his
chador and is giving it back as good as new. Your chador has gotten very
old. Now think and understand, O proud one.
A wondrous weaver wove this
chador, with the thread of karma as the warp,
Memory and attachment as
the weft. Then it looked agreeable to everyone.
But the dirty stains of
sins get on it. Touching anything will leave a smudge.
Bring the soap of gnosis
to wash it in the water of righteous company of the saints.
You haven't washed it.
Brother, it's become all
ruined now. You've gotten it mixed up with greed and folly.
With covering like this,
your life is wasted. You don't know what's good and what's bad.
Understand your fears and
live your own soul. This is a thing that's hard to find.
Says Kabir: Hold it very
carefully. It won't come into your grasp again..
Penalty of embodiment, transpires
to all
Learned deals with knowledge,
ignorant with moans
Says Kabir I would then
fear, if it happened only to me
Death, old age and perils,
is a must for all
O man, why do you act, why
regret the done deed
Having sown Babool, Mango,
how can you eat
I am so hungry, I cannot perform devotional worship service.
Here, Lord, take back Your mala.
I beg for the dust of the feet of the Saints.
I do not owe anyone anything.
O Lord, how can I be with You?
If You do not give me Yourself, then I shall beg until I get You.
I ask for two kilos of flour,
and half a pound of ghee, and salt.
I ask for a pound of beans,
which I shall eat twice a day.
I ask for a cot, with four legs, and a pillow and mattress.
I ask for a quit to cover myself.
Your humble servant shall perform Your devotional worship service with love.
He then goes on to say that he doesn't ask for these out of greed,
rather these are the bare essentials of his life and none can do without them.
Through this hymn, Kabir ji has beautifully shown us the precept of 'hand
on job and heart in God'.
Meditate on the Lord, O mortal being, through the Word of His Bani;
you shall be blessed with eternal life.
In this way, shall you cross over the terrifying world-ocean.
As it pleases Him, people embrace love for the Lord,
and doubt and delusion are dispelled from within.
Intuitive peace and poise well up within, and the intellect is awakened to spiritual wisdom.
By Guru's Grace, the inner being is touched by the Lord's Love.
In this association, there is no death.
Recognizing the Hukam of His Command, you shall meet with
your Lord and Master.
Siree Raag, Devotee Kabīr Jee:
Listen, O religious scholar: the One Lord alone is Wondrous; no one can describe Him.
He fascinates the angels, the celestial singers and the heavenly musicians; he has strung the three worlds upon His Thread.
The Unstruck Melody of the Sovereign Lord's Harp vibrates;
by His Glance of Grace, we are lovingly attuned to the Sound-current of the Naad.
The Tenth Gate of my crown chakra is the distilling fire, and the channels of the Ida and Pingala are the funnels, to pour in and empty out the golden vat.
Into that vat, there trickles a gentle stream of the most sublime and pure essence of all distilled essences.
Something wonderful has happened-the breath has become the cup.
In all the three worlds, such a Yogi is unique. What king can compare to him?
This spiritual wisdom of God, the Supreme Soul, has illuminated my being. Says Kabīr, I am attuned to His Love.
All the rest of the world is deluded by doubt, while my mind is intoxicated with the Sublime Essence of the Lord.
I was on fire, but now I have found the Water of the Lord's Name.
This Water of the Lord's Name has cooled my burning body.
To subdue their minds, some go off into the forests;
but that Water is not found without the Lord God.
That fire has consumed angels and mortal beings,
but the Water of the Lord's Name saves His humble servants from burning.
In the terrifying world-ocean, there is an ocean of peace.
I continue to drink it in, but this Water is never exhausted.
Says Kabīr, meditate and vibrate upon the Lord, like the rainbird remembering the water.
The Water of the Lord's Name has quenched my thirst.
O Lord, my thirst for the Water of Your Name will not go away.
The fire of my thirst burns even more brightly in that Water.
You are the Ocean of Water, and I am just a fish in that Water.
In that Water, I remain; without that Water, I would perish.
You are the cage, and I am Your parrot.
So what can the cat of death do to me?
You are the tree, and I am the bird.
I am so unfortunate - I cannot see the Blessed Vision of Your Darshan!
You are the True Guru, and I am Your new disciple.
Says Kabīr, O Lord, please meet me -
this is my very last chance!
When I realize that there is One, and only One Lord,
why then should the people be upset?
I am dishonored; I have lost my honor.
No one should follow in my footsteps.
I am bad, and bad in my mind as well.
I have no partnership with anyone.
I have no shame about honor or dishonor.
But you shall know, when your own false covering is laid bare.
Says Kabīr, honor is that which is accepted by the Lord.
Give up everything - meditate, vibrate upon the Lord alone.
If Yoga could be obtained by wandering around naked,
then all the deer of the forest would be liberated.
What does it matter whether someone goes naked, or wears a deer skin,
if he does not remember the Lord within his soul?
If the spiritual perfection of the Siddhas could be obtained by shaving the head,
then why haven't sheep found liberation?
If someone could save himself by celibacy, O Siblings of Destiny,
why then haven't eunuchs obtained the state of supreme dignity?
Says Kabīr, listen, O men, O Siblings of Destiny:
without the Lord's Name, who has ever found salvation?
Those who take their ritual baths in the evening and the morning
are like the frogs in the water.
When people do not love the Lord's Name,
they must all go to the Righteous Judge of Dharma.
Those who love their bodies and try differentlooks,
do not feel compassion, even in dreams.
The wise men call them four-footed creatures;
the Holy find peace in this ocean of pain.
Says Kabīr, why do you perform so many rituals?
Renounce everything, and drink in the supreme essence of the
Lord.
What use is chanting, and what use is penance, fasting or devotional worship,
to one whose heart is filled with the love of duality?
O humble people, link your mind to the Lord.
Through cleverness, the four-armed Lord is not obtained.
Set aside your greed and worldly ways.
Set aside sexual desire, anger and egotism.
Ritual practices bind people in egotism;
meeting together, they worship stones.
Says Kabīr, He is obtained only by devotional worship.
Through innocent love, the Lord is met.
In the dwelling of the womb, there is no ancestry or social status.
All have originated from the Seed of God.
Tell me, O Pandit, O religious scholar: since when have you been a Brahmin?
Don't waste your life by continually claiming to be a Brahmin.
If you are indeed a Brahmin, born of a Brahmin mother,
then why didn't you come by some other way?
How is it that you are a Brahmin, and I am of a low social status?
How is it that I am formed of blood, and you are made of milk?
Says Kabīr, one who contemplates God,
is said to be a Brahmin among us.
In the darkness, no one can sleep in peace.
The king and the pauper both weep and cry.
As long as the tongue does not chant the Lord's Name,
the person continues coming and going in reincarnation, crying out in pain.
It is like the shadow of a tree;
when the breath of life passes out of the mortal being, tell
me, what becomes of his wealth?
It is like the music contained in the instrument;
how can anyone know the secret of the dead?
Like the swan on the lake, death hovers over the body.
Drink in the Lord's sweet elixir, Kabīr.
The creation is born of the Light, and the Light is in the
creation.
It bears two fruits: the false glass and the true pearl.
Where is that home, which is said to be free of fear?
There, fear is dispelled and one lives without fear.
On the banks of sacred rivers, the mind is not appeased.
People remain entangled in good and bad deeds.
Sin and virtue are both the same.
In the home of your own being, is the Philosopher's Stone;
renounce your search for any other virtue.
Kabīr: O worthless mortal, do not lose the Naam, the Name
of the Lord.
Keep this mind of yours involved in this involvement.
He claims to know the Lord, who is beyond measure and beyond
thought;
by mere words, he plans to enter heaven.
I do not know where heaven is.
Everyone claims that he plans to go there.
By mere talk, the mind is not appeased.
The mind is only appeased, when egotism is conquered.
As long as the mind is filled with the desire for heaven,
he does not dwell at the Lord's Feet.
Says Kabīr, unto whom should I tell this?
The Saadh Sangat, the Company of the Holy, is heaven.
We are born, and we grow, and having grown, we pass away.
Before our very eyes, this world is passing away.
How can you not die of shame, claiming, "This world is
mine"?
At the very last moment, nothing is yours.
Trying various methods, you cherish your body,
but at the time of death, it is burned in the fire.
You apply sandalwood oil to your limbs,
but that body is burned with the firewood.
Says Kabīr, listen, O virtuous people:
your beauty shall vanish, as the whole world watches.
Why do you cry and mourn, when another person dies?
Do so only if you yourself are to live.
I shall not die as the rest of the world dies,
for now I have met the life-giving Lord.
People anoint their bodies with fragrant oils,
and in that pleasure, they forget the supreme bliss.
There is one well, and five water-carriers.
Even though the rope is broken, the fools continue trying to
draw water.
Says Kabīr, through contemplation, I have obtained this one
understanding.
There is no well, and no water-carrier.
The mobile and immobile creatures, insects and moths
-
in numerous lifetimes, I have passed through those many
forms.
I lived in many such homes, O Lord,
before I came into the womb this time.
I was a Yogi, a celibate, a penitent, and a Brahmchaaree,
with strict self-discipline.
Sometimes I was a king, sitting on the throne, and sometimes
I was a beggar.
The faithless cynics shall die, while the Saints shall all
survive.
They drink in the Lord's Ambrosial Essence with their
tongues.
Says Kabīr, O God, have mercy on me.
I am so tired; now, please bless me with Your perfection.
Kabīr has seen such wonders! Mistaking it for cream, the people are churning water.
The donkey grazes upon the green grass;
arising each day, he laughs and brays, and then dies.
The bull is intoxicated, and runs around wildly.
He romps and eats and then falls into hell.
Says Kabīr, a strange sport has become manifest:
the sheep is sucking the milk of her lamb.
Chanting the Lord's Name, my intellect is enlightened.
Says Kabīr, the Guru has blessed me with this
understanding.
I am like a fish out of water,
because in my previous life, I did not practice penance and
intense meditation.
Now tell me, Lord, what will my condition be?
I left Benares - I had little common sense.
I wasted my whole life in the city of Shiva;
at the time of my death, I moved to Magahar.
For many years, I practiced penance and intense meditation
at Kaashi; now that my time to die has come, I have come to dwell at
Magahar!
Kaashi and Magahar - I consider them the same.
With inadequate devotion, how can anyone swim across?
Says Kabīr, the Guru and Ganaysha and Shiva all know
that Kabīr died chanting the Lord's Name.
You may anoint your limbs with sandalwood oil,
but in the end, that body will be burned with the firewood.
Why should anyone take pride in this body or wealth?
They shall end up lying on the ground;
they shall not go
along with you to the world beyond.
They sleep by night and work during the day,
but they do not chant the Lord's Name, even for an instant.
They hold the string of the kite in their hands, and chew
betel leaves in their mouths,
but at the time of death, they shall be tied up tight, like
thieves.
Through the Guru's Teachings, and immersed in His Love, sing
the Glorious Praises of the Lord.
Chant the Name of the Lord, Raam, Raam, and find peace.
In His Mercy, He implants the Naam within us;
inhale deeply the sweet aroma and fragrance of the Lord,
Har, Har.
Says Kabīr, remember Him, you blind fool!
The Lord is True; all worldly affairs are false.
I have turned away from death and turned to the Lord.
Pain has been eliminated, and I dwell in peac and comfort.
My enemies have been transformed into friends.
The faithless cynics have been transformed into good-hearted
people.
Now, I feel that everything brings me peace.
Peace and tranquility have come, since I realized the Lord
of the Universe.
My body was afflicted with millions of diseases.
They have been transformed into the peaceful, tranquil
concentration of Samaadhi.
When someone understands his own self,
he no longer suffers from illness and the three fevers.
My mind has now been restored to its original purity.
When I became dead while yet alive, only then did I come to
know the Lord.
Says Kabīr, I am now immersed in intuitive peace and poise.
I do not fear anyone, and I do not strike fear into anyone
else.
When the body dies, where does the soul go?
It is absorbed into the untouched, unstruck melody of the
Word of the Shabad.
Only one who knows the Lord realizes Him.
The mind is satisfied and satiated, like the mute who eats
the sugar candy and just smiles, without speaking.
Such is the spiritual wisdom which the Lord has imparted.
O mind, hold your breath steady within the central channel
of the Sushmanaa.
Adopt such a Guru, that you shall not have to adopt another
again.
Dwell in such a state, that you shall never have to dwell in
any other.
Embrace such a meditation, that you shall never have to
embrace any other.
Die in such a way, that you shall never have to die again.
Turn your breath away from the left channel, and away from
the right channel, and unite them in the central channel of the Sushmanaa.
At their confluence within your mind, take your bath there
without water.
To look upon all with an impartial eye - let this be your
daily occupation.
Contemplate this essence of reality - what else is there to
contemplate?
Water, fire, wind, earth and ether
- adopt such a way of life and you shall be close to the
Lord.
Says Kabīr, meditate on the Immaculate Lord.
Go to that home, which you shall never have to leave.
He cannot be obtained by offering your weight in gold.
But I have bought the Lord by giving my mind to Him.
Now I recognize that He is my Lord.
My mind is intuitively pleased with Him.
Brahma spoke of Him continually, but could not find His
limit.
Because of my devotion to the Lord, He has come to sit
within the home of my inner being.
Says Kabīr, I have renounced my restless intellect.
It is my destiny to worship the Lord alone.
That death which terrifies the entire world
-
the nature of that death has been revealed to me, through
the Word of the Guru's Shabad.
Now, how shall I die? My mind has already accepted death.
Those who do not know the Lord, die over and over again, and
then depart.
Everyone says, "I will die, I will die."
But he alone becomes immortal, who dies with intuitive
understanding.
Says Kabīr, my mind is filled with bliss;
my doubts have been eliminated, and I am in ecstasy.
There is no special place where the soul aches;
where should
I apply the ointment?
I have searched the body, but I have not found such a place.
He alone knows it, who feels the pain of such love;
the arrows of the Lord's devotional worship are so sharp!
I look upon all His soul-brides with an impartial eye;
how can I know which ones are dear to the Husband Lord?
Says Kabīr, one who has such destiny inscribed upon her
forehead
-
her Husband Lord turns all others away, and meets with
her.
One who has the Lord as his Master, O Siblings of Destiny
-
countless liberations knock at his door.
If I say now that my trust is in You alone, Lord,
then what obligation do I have to anyone else?
He bears the burden of the three worlds;
why should He not cherish you also?
Says Kabīr, through contemplation, I have obtained this one
understanding.
If the mother poisons her own child, what can anyone do?
Without Truth, how can the woman be a true satee -
a widow
who burns herself on her husband's funeral pyre?
O Pandit, O religious scholar, see this and contemplate it
within your heart.
Without love, how can one's affection increase?
As long as there is attachment to pleasure, there can be no
spiritual love.
One who, in his own soul, believes the Queen Maya to be
true,
does not meet the Lord, even in dreams.
One who surrenders her body, mind, wealth, home and self
- she is the true soul-bride, says Kabīr.
The whole world is engrossed in corruption.
This corruption has drowned entire families.
O man, why have you wrecked your boat and sunk it?
You have broken with the Lord, and joined hands with
corruption.
Angels and human beings alike are burning in the raging
fire.
The water is near at hand, but the beast does not drink it
in.
By constant contemplation and awareness, the water is
brought forth.
That water is immaculate and pure, says Kabīr.
That family, whose son has no spiritual wisdom or
contemplation
- why didn't his mother just become a widow?
That man who has not practiced devotional worship of the
Lord
- why didn't such a sinful man die at birth?
So many pregnancies end in miscarriage - why was this one
spared?
He lives his life in this world like a deformed amputee.
Says Kabīr, without the Naam, the Name of the Lord,
beautiful
and handsome people are just ugly hunch-backs.
I am forever a sacrifice to those humble beings who take the
Name of their Lord and Master.
Those who sing the Glorious Praises of the Pure Lord are
pure.
They are my Siblings of Destiny, so dear to my heart.
I am the dust of the lotus feet of those whose hearts are
filled with the All-pervading Lord.
I am a weaver by birth, and patient of mind.
Slowly, steadily, Kabīr chants the Glories of God.
From the Sky of the Tenth Gate, the nectar trickles down,
distilled from my furnace.
I have gathered in this most sublime essence, making my body
into firewood.
He alone is called intoxicated with intuitive peace and
poise,
who drinks in the juice of the Lord's essence, contemplating
spiritual wisdom.
Intuitive poise is the bar-maid who comes to serve it.
I pass my nights and days in ecstasy.
Through conscious meditation, I linked my consciousness with
the Immaculate Lord.
Says Kabīr, then I obtained the Fearless Lord.
The natural tendency of the mind is to chase the mind.
Who has established himself as a Siddha, a being of miraculous
spiritual powers, by killing his mind?
Who is that silent sage, who has killed his mind?
By killing the mind, tell me, who is saved?
Everyone speaks through the mind.
Without killing the mind, devotional worship is not
performed.
Says Kabīr, one who knows the secret of this mystery,
beholds within his own mind the Lord of the three worlds.
I have grasped the reins and attached the bridle;
abandoning everything, I now ride through the skies.
I made self-reflection my mount,
and in the stirrups of intuitive poise, I placed my feet.
Come, and let me ride you to heaven.
If you hold back, then I shall strike you with the whip of
spiritual love.
Says Kabīr, those who remain detached from the Vedas, the
Koran and the Bible are the best riders.
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