Songs of Kabir | Page 8

tradesman, and all the thirty-six castes, alike are
seeking for God. It is but folly to ask what the caste of a saint may be;
The barber has sought God, the washerwoman, and the carpenter--
Even Raidas was a seeker after God. The Rishi Swapacha was a tanner
by caste. Hindus and Moslems alike have achieved that End, where
remains no mark of distinction.

III
I. 57. sâdho bhâî, jîval hî karo âs'â
O friend! hope for Him whilst you live, know whilst you live,
understand whilst you live: for in life deliverance abides. If your bonds
be not broken whilst living, what hope of deliverance in death? It is but
an empty dream, that the soul shall have union with Him because it has
passed from the body: If He is found now, He is found then, If not, we
do but go to dwell in the City of Death. If you have union now, you
shall have it hereafter. Bathe in the truth, know the true Guru, have
faith in the true Name! Kabîr says: "It is the Spirit of the quest which
helps; I am the slave of this Spirit of the quest."

IV
I. 58. bâgo nâ jâ re nâ jâ
Do not go to the garden of flowers! O Friend! go not there; In your
body is the garden of flowers. Take your seat on the thousand petals of
the lotus, and there gaze on the Infinite Beauty.

V
I. 63. avadhû, mâyâ tajî na jây
Tell me, Brother, how can I renounce Maya? When I gave up the tying
of ribbons, still I tied my garment about me: When I gave up tying my
garment, still I covered my body in its folds. So, when I give up
passion, I see that anger remains; And when I renounce anger, greed is
with me still; And when greed is vanquished, pride and vainglory
remain; When the mind is detached and casts Maya away, still it clings
to the letter. Kabîr says, "Listen to me, dear Sadhu! the true path is
rarely found."

VI
I. 83. candâ jhalkai yahi ghat mâhîn
The moon shines in my body, but my blind eyes cannot see it: The
moon is within me, and so is the sun. The unstruck drum of Eternity is
sounded within me; but my deaf ears cannot hear it.

So long as man clamours for the I and the Mine, his
works are as naught: When all love of the I and the
Mine is dead, then the work of the Lord is done. For work has
no other aim than the getting of knowledge: When that comes, then
work is put away.
The flower blooms for the fruit: when the fruit comes, the flower
withers. The musk is in the deer, but it seeks it not within itself: it
wanders in quest of grass.

VII
I. 85. Sâdho, Brahm alakh lakhâyâ
When He Himself reveals Himself, Brahma brings into manifestation
That which can never be seen. As the seed is in the plant, as the shade
is in the tree, as the void is in the sky, as infinite forms are in the void--
So from beyond the Infinite, the Infinite comes; and from the Infinite
the finite extends.
The creature is in Brahma, and Brahma is in the creature: they are ever
distinct, yet ever united. He Himself is the tree, the seed, and the germ.
He Himself is the flower, the fruit, and the shade. He Himself is the sun,
the light, and the lighted. He Himself is Brahma, creature, and Maya.
He Himself is the manifold form, the infinite space; He is the breath,
the word, and the meaning. He Himself is the limit and the limitless:
and beyond both the limited and the limitless is He, the Pure Being. He
is the Immanent Mind in Brahma and in the creature.
The Supreme Soul is seen within the soul, The Point is seen within the
Supreme Soul, And within the Point, the reflection is seen again. Kabîr
is blest because he has this supreme vision!

VIII
I. 101. is ghat antar bâg bagîce
Within this earthen vessel are bowers and groves, and within it is the
Creator: Within this vessel are the seven oceans and the unnumbered
stars. The touchstone and the jewel-appraiser are within; And within
this vessel the Eternal soundeth, and the spring wells up. Kabîr says:
"Listen to me, my Friend! My beloved Lord is within."

IX
I. 104. aisâ lo nahîn taisâ lo
O How may I ever express that secret word? O how can I say He is not
like this, and He is like that? If I say that He is within me, the universe
is ashamed: If I say that He is