Reading section 7

To whom shall I go to learn about my Beloved? Kabîr says: "As you never may find the forest if you ignore the tree, so He may never be found in abstractions."

XCI

III. 12. _samskirit bhâshâ padhi lînhâ_

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. Kabîr says: "Lay it down in the dust, and go forth to meet the Beloved. Address Him as your Lord."

XCII

III. 110. _carkhâ calai surat virahin kâ_

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! Kabîr 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. _kotîn bhânu candra târâgan_

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! Kabîr says: "When you unite love with the Lover, then you have love's perfection."

XCIV

I. 92. _avadhû begam des' hamârâ_

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. Kabîr says: "O beloved brother! naught is essential save Truth."

XCV

I. 109. _sâîn ke sangat sâsur âî_

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. Kabîr 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 mît piyarwâ_

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? Kabîr 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. _sâhab ham men, sâhab 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 Kabîr, 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 phâgun niyarânî_

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. Kabîr says: "Listen to me, brother' there are not many who have found this out."

XCIX

II. 111. _Nârad, pyâr so antar nâhî_

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. Kabîr says: "The Lover Himself reveals the glory of true love."

C

II. 122. _kôî prem kî peng jhulâo 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. Kabîr says: "Listen to me, brother! bring the vision of the Beloved in your heart."