Songs of Kabir: XLI-L

XLI-L

XLI

I. 76. santo, sahaj sam�dh bhal�
O sadhu!  the simple union is the best.  Since the day when I met
  with my Lord, there has been no end to the sport of our love.
I shut not my eyes, I close not my ears, I do not mortify my
  body;
I see with eyes open and smile, and behold His beauty everywhere:
I utter His Name, and whatever I see, it reminds me of Him;
  whatever I do., it becomes His worship.
The rising and the setting are one to me; all contradictions are
  solved.
Wherever I go, I move round Him,
All I achieve is His service:
When I lie down, I lie prostrate at His feet.
He is the only adorable one to me: I have none other.
My tongue has left off impure words, it sings His glory day and
  night:
Whether I rise or sit down, I can never forget Him; for the
  rhythm of His music beats in my ears.
Kab�r 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. t�rath men to sab p�n� 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.
Kab�r gives utterance to the words of experience; and he knows
  very well that all other things are untrue.
XLIII

I. 82. p�n� vic m�n piy�s�
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 nis�n 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.
Kab�r says: "He who has drunk of this nectar, wanders like one
  who is mad."
XLV

I. 97. s�dho, ko hai k�nh se �yo
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.
Kab�r says: "Brahma suits His language to the understanding of
  His hearer."
XLVI
I. 98. s�dho, sahajai k�y� 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.
Kab�r 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 m�l vin th�d�
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 Kab�r 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 mans� acal k�nh�
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.
Kab�r says: "I have attained the unattainable, and my heart is
  coloured with the colour of love."
XLIX

I. 105. jo d�sai, so to hai n�h�n
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.
Kab�r says: "He who has found both love and renunciation never
  descends to death."
L

I. 126. mural� bajat akhand sad�ye
The flute of the Infinite is played without ceasing, and its
  sound is love:
When love renounces all limits, it reaches truth.
How widely the fragrance spreads!  It has no end, nothing stands
  in its way.
The form of this melody is bright like a million suns:
  incomparably sounds the vina, the vina of the notes of truth.

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