I. 129. sakhiyo, ham hûn bhâî vâlamâs’î
DEAR friend, I am eager to meet my Beloved! My youth has flowered, and the pain of separation from Him troubles my breast.
I am wandering yet in the alleys of knowledge without purpose, but I have received His news in these alleys of knowledge.
I have a letter from my Beloved: in this letter is an unutterable message, and now my fear of death is done away.
Kabîr says: “O my loving friend! I have got for my gift the Deathless One.”
[p. 98]
I. 130. sâîn vin dard kareje hoy
WHEN I am parted from my Beloved, my heart is full of misery: I have no comfort in the day, I have no sleep in the night. To whom shall I tell my sorrow?
The night is dark; the hours slip by. Because my Lord is absent, I start up and tremble with fear.
Kabîr says: “Listen, my friend! there is no other satisfaction, save in the encounter with the Beloved.”
I. 122. kaum muralî s’abd s’un ânand bhayo
WHAT is that flute whose music thrills me with joy?
The flame burns without a lamp;
The lotus blossoms without a root; [p. 99]
Flowers bloom in clusters;
The moon-bird is devoted to the moon;
With all its heart the rain-bird longs for the shower of rain;
But upon whose love does the Lover concentrate His entire life?
I. 112. s’untâ nahî dhun kî khabar
HAVE you not heard the tune which the Unstruck Music is playing? In the midst of the chamber the harp of joy is gently and sweetly played; and where is the need of going without to hear it?
If you have not drunk of the nectar of that One Love, what boots it though you should purge yourself of all stains?
The Kazi is searching the words of the Koran, and instructing others: [p. 100] but if his heart be not steeped in that love, what does it avail, though he be a teacher of men?
The Yogi dyes his garments with red: but if he knows naught of that colour of love, what does it avail though his garments be tinted?
Kabîr says: “Whether I be in the temple or the balcony, in the camp or in the flower garden, I tell you truly that every moment my Lord is taking His delight in me.”
I. 73. bhakti kâ mârag jhînâ re
SUBTLE is the path of love!
Therein there is no asking and no not-asking,
There one loses one’s self at His feet,
There one is immersed in the joy of the seeking: plunged in the deeps of love as the fish in the water. [p. 101]
The lover is never slow in offering his head for his Lord’s service.
Kabîr declares the secret of this love.
I. 68. bhâi kôî satguru sant kahâwaî
HE is the real Sadhu, who can reveal the form of the Formless to the vision of these eyes:
Who teaches the simple way of attaining Him, that is other than rites or ceremonies:
Who does not make you close the doors, and hold the breath, and renounce the world:
Who makes you perceive the Supreme Spirit wherever the mind attaches itself:
Who teaches you to be still in the midst of all your activities.
Ever immersed in bliss, having no fear in his mind, he keeps the spirit of [p. 102] union in the midst of all enjoyments.
The infinite dwelling of the Infinite Being is everywhere: in earth, water, sky, and air:
Firm as the thunderbolt, the seat of the seeker is established above the void.
He who is within is without: I see Him and none else.
I. 66. sâdho, s’abd sâdhnâ kîjai
RECEIVE that Word from which the Universe springeth!
That word is the Guru; I have heard it, and become the disciple.
How many are there who know the meaning of that word?
O Sadhu! practise that Word!
The Vedas and the Puranas proclaim it,
The world is established in it, [p. 103]
The Rishis and devotees speak of it:
But none knows the mystery of the Word.
The householder leaves his house when he hears it,
The ascetic comes back to love when he hears it,
The Six Philosophies expound it,
The Spirit of Renunciation points to that Word,
From that Word the world-form has sprung,
That Word reveals all.
Kabîr says: “But who knows whence the Word cometh?”
I. 63. pîle pyâlâ, ho matwâlâ
EMPTY the Cup! O be drunken!
Drink the divine nectar of His Name!
Kabîr says: “Listen to me, dear Sadhu! [p. 104]
From the sole of the foot to the crown of the head this mind is filled with poison.”
I. 52. khasm na cînhai bâwari
O MAN, if thou dost not know thine own Lord, whereof art thou so proud?
Put thy cleverness away: mere words shall never unite thee to Him.
Do not deceive thyself with the witness of the Scriptures:
Love is something other than this, and he who has sought it truly has found it.
I. 56. sukh sindh kî sair kâ
THE savour of wandering in the ocean of deathless life has rid me of all my asking: [p. 105]
As the tree is in the seed, so all diseases are in this asking.