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