Songs of Kabir: XCI-C

XCI-C

XCI

III. 12. samskirit bh�sh� padhi l�nh�
I have learned the Sanskrit language, so let all men call me
  wise:
But where is the use of this, when I am floating adrift, and
  parched with thirst, and burning with the heat of desire?
To no purpose do you bear on your head this load of pride and
  vanity.
Kab�r says: "Lay it down in the dust, and go forth to meet the
  Beloved.  Address Him as your Lord."
XCII

III. 110. carkh� calai surat virahin k�
The woman who is parted from her lover spins at the spinning
  wheel.
The city of the body arises in its beauty; and within it the
  palace of the mind has been built.
The wheel of love revolves in the sky, and the seat is made of
  the jewels of knowledge:
What subtle threads the woman weaves, and makes them fine with
  love and reverence!
Kab�r says: "I am weaving the garland of day and night.  When my
  Lover comes and touches me with His feet, I shall offer Him my
  tears."
XCIII

III. 111. kot�n bh�nu candra t�r�gan
Beneath the great umbrella of my King millions of suns and moons
  and stars are shining!
He is the Mind within my mind: He is the Eye within mine eye.
Ah, could my mind and eyes be one!  Could my love but reach to my
  Lover!  Could but the fiery heat of my heart be cooled!
Kab�r says: "When you unite love with the Lover, then you have
  love's perfection."
XCIV

I. 92. avadh� begam des' ham�r�
O sadhu! my land is a sorrowless land.
I cry aloud to all, to the king and the beggar, the emperor and
  the fakir--
Whosoever seeks for shelter in the Highest, let all come and
  settle in my land!
Let the weary come and lay his burdens here!
So live here, my brother, that you may cross with ease to that
  other shore.
It is a land without earth or sky, without moon or stars;
For only the radiance of Truth shines in my Lord's Durbar.
Kab�r says: "O beloved brother!  naught is essential save Truth."
XCV

I. 109. s��n ke sangat s�sur ��
Came with my Lord to my Lord's home: but I lived not with Him and
  I tasted Him not, and my youth passed away like a dream.
On my wedding night my women-friends sang in chorus, and I was
  anointed with the unguents of pleasure and pain:
But when the ceremony was over, I left my Lord and came away, and
  my kinsman tried to console me upon the road.
Kab�r says, "I shall go to my Lord's house with my love at my
  side; then shall I sound the trumpet of triumph!"
XCVI

I. 75. samajh dekh man m�t piyarw�
O friend, dear heart of mine, think well!  if you love indeed,
  then why do you sleep?
If you have found Him, then give yourself utterly, and take Him
  to you.
Why do you loose Him again and again?
If the deep sleep of rest has come to your eyes, why waste your
  time making the bed and arranging the pillows?
Kab�r says: "I tell you the ways of love!  Even though the head
  itself must be given, why should you weep over it?"
XCVII

II. 90. s�hab ham men, s�hab tum men
The Lord is in me, the Lord is in you, as life is in every seed.
  O servant!  put false pride away, and seek for Him within you.
A million suns are ablaze with light,
The sea of blue spreads in the sky,
The fever of life is stilled, and all stains are washed away;
  when I sit in the midst of that world.
Hark to the unstruck bells and drums!  Take your delight in love!
Rains pour down without water, and the rivers are streams of
  light.
One Love it is that pervades the whole world, few there are who
  know it fully:
They are blind who hope to see it by the light of reason, that
  reason which is the cause of separation--
The House of Reason is very far away!
How blessed is Kab�r, that amidst this great joy he sings within
  his own vessel.
It is the music of the meeting of soul with soul;
It is the music of the forgetting of sorrows;
It is the music that transcends all coming in and all going
  forth.
XCVIII

II. 98. ritu ph�gun niyar�n�
The month of March draws near: ah, who will unite me to my Lover?
How shall I find words for the beauty of my Beloved?  For He is
  merged in all beauty.
His colour is in all the pictures of the world, and it bewitches
  the body and the mind.
Those who know this, know what is this unutterable play of the
  Spring.
Kab�r says: "Listen to me, brother' there are not many who have
  found this out."
XCIX

II. 111. N�rad, py�r so antar n�h�
Oh Narad!  I know that my Lover cannot be far:
When my Lover wakes, I wake; when He sleeps, I sleep.
He is destroyed at the root who gives pain to my Beloved.
Where they sing His praise, there I live;
When He moves, I walk before Him: my heart yearns for my Beloved.
The infinite pilgrimage lies at His feet, a million devotees are
  seated there.
Kab�r says: "The Lover Himself reveals the glory of true love."
C

II. 122. k�� prem k� peng jhul�o re
Hang up the swing of love to-day!  Hang the body and the mind
  between the arms of the Beloved, in the ecstasy of love's joy:
Bring the tearful streams of the rainy clouds to your eyes, and
  cover your heart with the shadow of darkness:
Bring your face nearer to His ear, and speak of the deepest
  longings of your heart.
Kab�r says: "Listen to me, brother!  bring the vision of the
  Beloved in your heart."

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