Songs of Kabir | Page 7

their mystical aspect, as
sacraments of the soul's relation with Brahma. In many of these a
particularly beautiful and intimate feeling for Nature is shown.
[Footnote: Nos. XV, XXIII, LXVII, LXXXVII, XCVII.]
In the collection of songs here translated there will be found examples
which illustrate nearly every aspect of Kabîr's thought, and all the
fluctuations of the mystic's emotion: the ecstasy, the despair, the still
beatitude, the eager self-devotion, the flashes of wide illumination, the
moments of intimate love. His wide and deep vision of the universe, the
"Eternal Sport" of creation (LXXXII), the worlds being "told like
beads" within the Being of God (XIV, XVI, XVII, LXXVI), is here
seen balanced by his lovely and delicate sense of intimate communion
with the Divine Friend, Lover, Teacher of the soul (X, XI, XXIII,

XXXV, LI, LXXXV, LXXXVI, LXXXVIII, XCII, XCIII; above all,
the beautiful poem XXXIV). As these apparently paradoxical views of
Reality are resolved in Brâhma, so all other opposites are reconciled in
Him: bondage and liberty, love and renunciation, pleasure and pain
(XVII, XXV, XL, LXXIX). Union with Him is the one thing that
matters to the soul, its destiny and its need (LI, I, II, LIV, LXX,
LXXIV, XCIII, XCVI); and this union, this discovery of God, is the
simplest and most natural of all things, if we would but grasp it (XLI,
XLVI, LVI, LXXII, LXXVI, LXXVIII, XCVII). The union, however,
is brought about by love, not by knowledge or ceremonial observances
(XXXVIII, LIV, LV, LIX, XCI); and the apprehension which that
union confers is ineffable--"neither This nor That," as Ruysbroeck has
it (IX, XLVI, LXXVI). Real worship and communion is in Spirit and in
Truth (XL, XLI, LVI, LXIII, LXV, LXX), therefore idolatry is an insult
to the Divine Lover (XLII, LXIX) and the devices of professional
sanctity are useless apart from charity and purity of soul (LIV, LXV,
LXVI). Since all things, and especially the heart of man, are
God-inhabited, God-possessed (XXVI, LVI, LXXVI, LXXXIX,
XCVII), He may best be found in the here-and-now: in the normal.
human, bodily existence, the "mud" of material life (III, IV, VI, XXI,
XXXIX, XL, XLIII, XLVIII, LXXII). "We can reach the goal without
crossing the road" (LXXVI)--not the cloister but the home is the proper
theatre of man's efforts: and if he cannot find God there, he need not
hope for success by going farther afield. "In the home is reality." There
love and detachment, bondage and freedom, joy and pain play by turns
upon the soul; and it is from their conflict that the Unstruck Music of
the Infinite proceeds. Kabîr says: "None but Brahma can evoke its
melodies."
"This version of Kabîr's songs is chiefly the work of Mr. Rabîndranâth
Tagore, the trend of whose mystical genius makes him--as all who read
these poems will see--a peculiarly sympathetic interpreter of Kabîr's
vision and thought. It has been based upon the printed Hindî text with
Bengali translation of Mr. Kshiti Mohan Sen; who has gathered from
many sources-- sometimes from books and manuscripts, sometimes
from the lips of wandering ascetics and minstrels--a large collection of
poems and hymns to which Kabîr's name is attached, and carefully
sifted the authentic songs from the many spurious works now attributed

to him. These painstaking labours alone have made the present
undertaking possible.
We have also had before us a manuscript English translation of 116
songs made by Mr. Ajit Kumâr Chakravarty from Mr. Kshiti Mohan
Sen's text, and a prose essay upon Kabîr from the same hand. From
these we have derived great assistance. A considerable number of
readings from the translation have been adopted by us; whilst several of
the facts mentioned in the essay have been incorporated into this
introduction. Our most grateful thanks are due to Mr. Ajit Kumar
Chakravarty for the extremely generous and unselfish manner in which
he has placed his work at our disposal.
E. U.
The reference of the headlines of the poems is to:
Sântiniketana; Kabîr by Srî Kshitimohan Sen, 4 parts,
Brahmacharyâsrama, Bolpur, 1910-1911.
For some assistance in normalizing the transliteration we are indebted
to Professor J. F. Blumhardt.

KABIR'S POEMS
I
I. 13. mo ko kahân dhûnro bande
O servant, where dost thou seek Me? Lo! I am beside thee. I am neither
in temple nor in mosque: I am neither in Kaaba nor in Kailash: Neither
am I in rites and ceremonies, nor in Yoga and renunciation. If thou art a
true seeker, thou shalt at once see Me: thou shalt meet Me in a moment
of time. Kabîr says, "O Sadhu! God is the breath of all breath."

II
I. 16. Santan jât na pûcho nirguniyân
It is needless to ask of a saint the caste to which he belongs; For the
priest, the warrior. the