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Songs of Kabir
A New York Review Books Original
Transcending divisions of creed, challenging social distinctions of all sorts, and celebrating individual unity with the divine, the poetry of Kabir is one of passion and paradox, of mind-bending riddles and exultant riffs. These new translations by Arvind Krishna Mehrotra, one of India’s finest contemporary poets, bring out the richness, wit, and power of a literary and spiritual master.
Transcending divisions of creed, challenging social distinctions of all sorts, and celebrating individual unity with the divine, the poetry of Kabir is one of passion and paradox, of mind-bending riddles and exultant riffs. These new translations by Arvind Krishna Mehrotra, one of India’s finest contemporary poets, bring out the richness, wit, and power of a literary and spiritual master.
144 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1448
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About the author
Kabir
124 books274 followersKabīr was a mystic poet and saint of India, whose writings have greatly influenced the Bhakti movement. The name Kabir comes from Arabic al-Kabīr which means "The Great" – the 37th name of God in Islam. Kabir's legacy is today carried forward by the Kabir panth ("Path of Kabir"), a religious community that recognises him as its founder and is one of the Sant Mat sects. Its members, known as Kabir panthis, are estimated to be around 9.6 million. They are spread over north and central India, as well as dispersed with the Indian diaspora across the world, up from 843,171 in the 1901 census.[5] His writings include Bijak, Sakhi Granth, Kabir Granthawali and Anurag Sagar.
Kabir's early life is not firmly established. In Indian tradition, he is commonly supposed to have lived for 120 years from 1398 to 1518, which "permits him to be associated with other famous figures such as Guru Nanak and Sikander Lodi" Historians are uncertain about his dates of birth and death. Some state 1398 as a date of birth,5 whereas others favour later dates, such as 1440Some assign his death date to the middle of the 15th century – for example, 1440 or 1448whereas others place it in 1518Lifespans commonly suggested by scholars include from 1398 to 1448, and from 1440 to 1518.
According to one traditional version of his parentage, Kabir was born to a Brahmin widow at Lahartara near Kashi (modern day Varanasi). The widow abandoned Kabir to escape dishonour associated with births outside marriage. He was brought up in a family of poor Muslim weavers Niru and Nima. They could not afford formal education for Kabir and initiated him into their trade of weaving.According to American Indologist Wendy Doniger, Kabir was born into a Muslim family and "all these stories attempt to drag Kabir back over the line from Muslim to Hindu".[Kabir's family is believed to have lived in the locality of Kabir Chaura in Varanasi. Kabīr maṭha (कबीरमठ), a maṭha located in the back alleys of Kabir Chaura, celebrates his life and times.
Kabir's early life is not firmly established. In Indian tradition, he is commonly supposed to have lived for 120 years from 1398 to 1518, which "permits him to be associated with other famous figures such as Guru Nanak and Sikander Lodi" Historians are uncertain about his dates of birth and death. Some state 1398 as a date of birth,5 whereas others favour later dates, such as 1440Some assign his death date to the middle of the 15th century – for example, 1440 or 1448whereas others place it in 1518Lifespans commonly suggested by scholars include from 1398 to 1448, and from 1440 to 1518.
According to one traditional version of his parentage, Kabir was born to a Brahmin widow at Lahartara near Kashi (modern day Varanasi). The widow abandoned Kabir to escape dishonour associated with births outside marriage. He was brought up in a family of poor Muslim weavers Niru and Nima. They could not afford formal education for Kabir and initiated him into their trade of weaving.According to American Indologist Wendy Doniger, Kabir was born into a Muslim family and "all these stories attempt to drag Kabir back over the line from Muslim to Hindu".[Kabir's family is believed to have lived in the locality of Kabir Chaura in Varanasi. Kabīr maṭha (कबीरमठ), a maṭha located in the back alleys of Kabir Chaura, celebrates his life and times.
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September 2, 2015
DANCE, my heart! dance to-day with joy.
The strains of love fill the days and the nights with music, and the world is listening to its melodies:
Mad with joy, life and death dance to the rhythm of this music. The hills and the sea and the earth dance. The world of man dances in laughter and tears.
Why put on the robe of the monk, and live aloof from the world in lonely pride?
Behold! my heart dances in the delight of a hundred arts; and the Creator is well pleased.
‘The Songs of Kabir’, translated by Rabindranath Tagore in 1915, introduces a fine selection of poems from Kabir – one of the greatest names in the history of Indian mysticism. Believed to be born in or near Benares, of Mohammedan parents, probably around the year 1440, Kabir became a disciple of the Hindu ascetic Ramananda, who initiated a religious revival in Northern India against the influence of formalism of the orthodox cult and for expressing the “demands of heart” or personal aspects of the divine nature as part of religious culture.
Ramananda found the deep philosophy in the poems of great Persian mystic poets like Attar, Saadi Shirazi, Jalalu'ddin Rumi, and Hafiz a perfect medium for integrating with the traditional Hindu spirituality to make it more personal for the followers of religious culture. Kabir continued with the teachings of Ramananda, and in a genius manner infused the intense and personal Mohammedan mysticism with the traditional theology of Brahmanism in his poems, which portray a wide range of mystical emotions through homely similes. Kabir was a skilled musician too and his artistic expression of adoration through music and poems soon made such an impact with the supporters of both religions which led to the creation of a sect - Kabir panth or Path of Kabir - which is still survived by a healthy number of followers.
Kabir never adopted the life of the professional ascetic but expressed his views in the Hindu and Sufi philosophy while leading a sane and conscientious life of a weaver, who earned his living at the loom and raising a family. This made his songs and poems with allegories drawn from daily life acquire a form that connected well with the followers of common life. He wrote his poems in vernacular Hindi and addressed common people rather than the religious class and his songs discussed various aspects of common life.
In the selection of poems presented in this anthology we can detect examples for almost all the aspects of Kabir’s opinions and emotions - eager self-devotion, the ecstasy, and his visions of the universe, endless love – all finely translated by Rabindranath Tagore with great understanding towards the true thought and visions carried by them.
Kabir tells us how a true seeker of the divine finds him through a union with the divine:
He tells us how the divine can be found in the here-and-now: in the normal human existence.
The same concept of seeking for truth with in the bodily material existence is visible in another poem:
Kabir sings about how the soul makes a union with the divine through love and not through ceremonial observances:
For Kabir the path to real worship and spiritual union is through truth, kindness, compassion, righteousness and love towards everything and not through complex religious practices. He is pretty candid when he denounces ceremonial observations and other orthodox observations.
These songs or poems, which fuses together the philosophies of Sufism and Hinduism raises some questions at the traditional ways of both these religions while bringing the importance of gaining true happiness by leading a life that is based on righteousness, consideration for all other living beings and by passively detaching one from the affairs of the world. These concepts, when they came out during the 1400s where pretty revolutionary and it is no surprise that Kabir was actively persecuted by the establishments of both religions during his time.
The strains of love fill the days and the nights with music, and the world is listening to its melodies:
Mad with joy, life and death dance to the rhythm of this music. The hills and the sea and the earth dance. The world of man dances in laughter and tears.
Why put on the robe of the monk, and live aloof from the world in lonely pride?
Behold! my heart dances in the delight of a hundred arts; and the Creator is well pleased.
‘The Songs of Kabir’, translated by Rabindranath Tagore in 1915, introduces a fine selection of poems from Kabir – one of the greatest names in the history of Indian mysticism. Believed to be born in or near Benares, of Mohammedan parents, probably around the year 1440, Kabir became a disciple of the Hindu ascetic Ramananda, who initiated a religious revival in Northern India against the influence of formalism of the orthodox cult and for expressing the “demands of heart” or personal aspects of the divine nature as part of religious culture.
Ramananda found the deep philosophy in the poems of great Persian mystic poets like Attar, Saadi Shirazi, Jalalu'ddin Rumi, and Hafiz a perfect medium for integrating with the traditional Hindu spirituality to make it more personal for the followers of religious culture. Kabir continued with the teachings of Ramananda, and in a genius manner infused the intense and personal Mohammedan mysticism with the traditional theology of Brahmanism in his poems, which portray a wide range of mystical emotions through homely similes. Kabir was a skilled musician too and his artistic expression of adoration through music and poems soon made such an impact with the supporters of both religions which led to the creation of a sect - Kabir panth or Path of Kabir - which is still survived by a healthy number of followers.
Kabir never adopted the life of the professional ascetic but expressed his views in the Hindu and Sufi philosophy while leading a sane and conscientious life of a weaver, who earned his living at the loom and raising a family. This made his songs and poems with allegories drawn from daily life acquire a form that connected well with the followers of common life. He wrote his poems in vernacular Hindi and addressed common people rather than the religious class and his songs discussed various aspects of common life.
In the selection of poems presented in this anthology we can detect examples for almost all the aspects of Kabir’s opinions and emotions - eager self-devotion, the ecstasy, and his visions of the universe, endless love – all finely translated by Rabindranath Tagore with great understanding towards the true thought and visions carried by them.
Kabir tells us how a true seeker of the divine finds him through a union with the divine:
O SERVANT, where dost thou seek Me?
Lo! I am beside thee.
I am neither in temple nor in mosque: I am neither in Kaaba nor in Kailash:
Neither am I in rites and ceremonies, nor in Yoga and renunciation.
If thou art a true seeker, thou shalt at once see Me: thou shalt meet Me in a moment of time.
Kabir says, "O Sadhu! God is the breath of all breath."
He tells us how the divine can be found in the here-and-now: in the normal human existence.
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.
...
The musk is in the deer, but it seeks it not within itself: it wanders in quest of grass.
The same concept of seeking for truth with in the bodily material existence is visible in another poem:
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.
Kabir sings about how the soul makes a union with the divine through love and not through ceremonial observances:
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.
The lover is never slow in offering his head for his Lord's service.
Kabir declares the secret of this love.
For Kabir the path to real worship and spiritual union is through truth, kindness, compassion, righteousness and love towards everything and not through complex religious practices. He is pretty candid when he denounces ceremonial observations and other orthodox observations.
I do not ring the temple bell:
I do not set the idol on its throne: I do not worship the image with flowers.
It is not the austerities that mortify the flesh which are pleasing to the Lord,
When you leave off your clothes and kill your senses, you do not please the Lord:
The man who is kind and who practices righteousness, who remains passive amidst the affairs of the world, who considers all creatures on earth as his own self,
He attains the Immortal Being, the true God is ever with him.
Kabir says: "He attains the true Name whose words are pure, and who is free from pride and conceit."
These songs or poems, which fuses together the philosophies of Sufism and Hinduism raises some questions at the traditional ways of both these religions while bringing the importance of gaining true happiness by leading a life that is based on righteousness, consideration for all other living beings and by passively detaching one from the affairs of the world. These concepts, when they came out during the 1400s where pretty revolutionary and it is no surprise that Kabir was actively persecuted by the establishments of both religions during his time.
July 7, 2022
One of the purest distillations of divinity I have ever read - inspired me to look deeper into the true meaning of happiness. Such wonderful and meditative poems; the divine seen through the mist of ideology. There is no other agenda here than to connect with the divine - such a simple concept - yet how seldom do we truly achieve it.
August 3, 2014
ultimate translation in english i have ever read.
December 17, 2019
Rating: 4.5
Kabir’s poems are truly fascinating because they form an interesting combination between Sufism and Hinduism. In this poetry collection you will find the well-known mystic metaphors depicting the transcendental bond between the mystic and God (the guru and the disciple, the Bridegroom and the bride, the Lord and the slave), the ecstasy or the longing for the presence of the Divine Teacher, Comrade or Fakir to whose feet the lover bows obediently.
But here the Lord is Brahma, who reveals Himself through Unstruck Music of the Universe, which can be heard only by illuminated mystics like Kabir, who detached himself from his ego, in order to let Love fill his heart. He found the Truth and realized that both material and spiritual world are as one because God is within everything and everything is within God. Therefore, Kabir’s Union with the Supreme Spirit is made through Love and not through Knowledge. As well as in Rumi’s poems, we find the recurrent theme of the ecstatic dance, but here, instead of the Whirling Dervishes, we have the Eternal Swing of the Universe which is “held by the cords of love” (Loc.161).
The poems are written in vernacular Hindi rather than in the literary tongue of the ecclesiastical class, they contain simple metaphors and symbols drawn from everyday life (e.g. the bird, the pilgrim, the weaver). As in the Persian poets’ mystic works, we find that Kabir’s name is placed towards the end of the poems, which symbolizes a kind of signature of the poet in Medieval Middle-Eastern poetry, a period when copyright laws weren’t invented yet.
http://elitere.ro/songs-of-kabir/
Kabir’s poems are truly fascinating because they form an interesting combination between Sufism and Hinduism. In this poetry collection you will find the well-known mystic metaphors depicting the transcendental bond between the mystic and God (the guru and the disciple, the Bridegroom and the bride, the Lord and the slave), the ecstasy or the longing for the presence of the Divine Teacher, Comrade or Fakir to whose feet the lover bows obediently.
But here the Lord is Brahma, who reveals Himself through Unstruck Music of the Universe, which can be heard only by illuminated mystics like Kabir, who detached himself from his ego, in order to let Love fill his heart. He found the Truth and realized that both material and spiritual world are as one because God is within everything and everything is within God. Therefore, Kabir’s Union with the Supreme Spirit is made through Love and not through Knowledge. As well as in Rumi’s poems, we find the recurrent theme of the ecstatic dance, but here, instead of the Whirling Dervishes, we have the Eternal Swing of the Universe which is “held by the cords of love” (Loc.161).
The poems are written in vernacular Hindi rather than in the literary tongue of the ecclesiastical class, they contain simple metaphors and symbols drawn from everyday life (e.g. the bird, the pilgrim, the weaver). As in the Persian poets’ mystic works, we find that Kabir’s name is placed towards the end of the poems, which symbolizes a kind of signature of the poet in Medieval Middle-Eastern poetry, a period when copyright laws weren’t invented yet.
http://elitere.ro/songs-of-kabir/
June 9, 2012
I downloaded this free Kindle edition with some trepidation, expecting what I paid...nothing. Instead, as I became fascinated with Evelyn Underhill’s erudite and detailed introduction to this edition, translated by the Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore, I realised I’d stumbled on a gem.
The introduction is essential to gaining a deeper understanding of the lyrical, mystical poems that follow. Reading it again after one has read the SONGS OF KABIR deepens both the enjoyment of the introduction itself and the songs.
But it’s in the ecstasy of Kabir’s spiritual experiences as he struggles to share his transcendent experience of the Divine that make this book so excellent. As do the Psalms of King David, Kabir’s works range across human emotions, from the depths of despair to the heights of an overwhelming love.
Kabir’s faith and love of a Divine Being he experienced personally, in his ordinary life as a weaver, could not be boxed by traditional religions, and his impatience with rituals and rules that increase the distance between man and the Divine is clear (“…The Kazi is searching the words of the Koran, and instructing others: 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?...” [Poem LIV]
The real heart of these poems – what speaks most clearly to the reader across the centuries – is Kabir’s passion and adoration of the Divine Presence in his daily life. Not for this mystic the lonely mountaintop and isolation from the real world. The SONGS OF KABIR clearly reflect the inspiration and joy of a man who had discovered an essential Truth and who carried his God within his heart:
“Living in bondage, I have set myself free: I have broken away from the clutch of all narrowness. Kabir says: I have attained the unattainable, and my heart is coloured with the colour of love.” [Poem XLVIII]
Kabir was, indeed, a free spirit who had discovered the meaning of Love.
The introduction is essential to gaining a deeper understanding of the lyrical, mystical poems that follow. Reading it again after one has read the SONGS OF KABIR deepens both the enjoyment of the introduction itself and the songs.
But it’s in the ecstasy of Kabir’s spiritual experiences as he struggles to share his transcendent experience of the Divine that make this book so excellent. As do the Psalms of King David, Kabir’s works range across human emotions, from the depths of despair to the heights of an overwhelming love.
Kabir’s faith and love of a Divine Being he experienced personally, in his ordinary life as a weaver, could not be boxed by traditional religions, and his impatience with rituals and rules that increase the distance between man and the Divine is clear (“…The Kazi is searching the words of the Koran, and instructing others: 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?...” [Poem LIV]
The real heart of these poems – what speaks most clearly to the reader across the centuries – is Kabir’s passion and adoration of the Divine Presence in his daily life. Not for this mystic the lonely mountaintop and isolation from the real world. The SONGS OF KABIR clearly reflect the inspiration and joy of a man who had discovered an essential Truth and who carried his God within his heart:
“Living in bondage, I have set myself free: I have broken away from the clutch of all narrowness. Kabir says: I have attained the unattainable, and my heart is coloured with the colour of love.” [Poem XLVIII]
Kabir was, indeed, a free spirit who had discovered the meaning of Love.
August 30, 2022
• Songs of Kabir, translated from Hindi by Arvind Krishna Mehrotra - Day 21 of The Sealey Challenge.
15th-century Indian poetry - new obsession?
"Upside down language" riddles and wordplay, koans, fable-like prose poetry, bhakti devotionals but not in a traditional sense, Kabir eschews & even mocks formalized belief systems, advocating for personal practice. Loved Mehrotra's modern translation of these ancient texts!
15th-century Indian poetry - new obsession?
"Upside down language" riddles and wordplay, koans, fable-like prose poetry, bhakti devotionals but not in a traditional sense, Kabir eschews & even mocks formalized belief systems, advocating for personal practice. Loved Mehrotra's modern translation of these ancient texts!
March 26, 2016
These are beautiful, joyful poems. They're calming and enlightening to read. Kabir's insights about the unity of God and the follies of many other religions, and also the truths in all of them, is really great and quite modern for that time period. This is the kind of book you could take off your shelf and read a few poems and feel happy and peaceful for the rest of the day.
I wish this edition had a glossary though, because there were some words related to certain religions that I didn't understand.
I wish this edition had a glossary though, because there were some words related to certain religions that I didn't understand.
May 4, 2019
Picked this up on a complete whim while looking for translated poetry on Overdrive. It was interesting, since I'd never heard of Kabir before, but the translation was...confusing. Mehrotra's choices make the poems very brief, snappy, memorable, but also a little crude and very linguistically inaccurate. (Pretty sure a 15th century poet didn't know about Sing Sing, chromosomes, etc.) So it was interesting, but I think I might look up Tagore's translation for something more true to the original.
August 24, 2017
Call him heretic or Sardonic, but his poems is mind blowing. There is pure a beauty reflected in his writings which is heavily influenced by Sufism and Hinduism. I would love to indulge more in his work.
October 13, 2014
I have been reading Osho's book. What is said in this book is parallel to what Rabindranath Tagore is saying. Only a mystic could really know a mystic
October 14, 2018
Is a mixture of Indian, Islam and Christianity teaching delivered as poems. Interesting
July 19, 2011
Every now and then I run across someone who seems to have figured it all out -- and by 'it' I mean life, death, the universe, meaning, all that stuff. The Songs of Kabir are astonishing. In the 1400s, when everyone else was killing each other over religious strife, Kabir was writing celebratory songs about the emptiness of religious dogma and the importance of finding meaning underneath all the superficial things that trouble us from day to day. We don't know much about him or his circumstances -- most of what we do know is myth anyway -- so what emerges is this amazing, modern voice that speaks to us across the centuries, like a Zen monk, slapping us across the face with his words, bringing us up short, and forcing us to focus, just for a moment, on what's really important.
February 7, 2017
Beautiful poetry. Some verses were very heart warming and some contains thought provoking ideas into our own faith.
February 17, 2024
LET A GIRL WEEP—
Weep? Because A loved one's dead?
But death comes to everyone.
Tomorrow it could be you.
Weep? Because A loved one's dead?
But death comes to everyone.
Tomorrow it could be you.
January 30, 2023
Mesmerising and transcendental, Kabir’s poems offer a wide range of mystical emotion being brought into play: from the loftiest abstractions, the most otherworldly passion for the Infinite, to the most intimate and personal realisation of God, expressed in homely metaphors and religious symbols drawn indifferently from Hindu and Mohammedan belief.
Kabir's finest poems have as their subjects the commonplaces of Hindu philosophy and religion: the Lila or Sport of God, the Ocean of Bliss, the Bird of the Soul, Maya, the Hundred-petalled Lotus, and the "Formless Form."
Kabir's finest poems have as their subjects the commonplaces of Hindu philosophy and religion: the Lila or Sport of God, the Ocean of Bliss, the Bird of the Soul, Maya, the Hundred-petalled Lotus, and the "Formless Form."
April 25, 2011
I stumbled upon this copy as a free book for the kindle. I could not have stumbled upon it at a better time. A young man very close to my son had just taken his life a couple of days prior to me reading this. The young man was a beautiful reckless spirit who had a deep love for music. He was a talented musician and his voice will live on in his recordings. The Songs of Kabir helped me to not dwell on my tears and stopped me from internalizing and twisting the events of the week into something personal. With the help of the lyrical prose of Kabir, I was able to take each moment for what it was. Kabir helped me hear the music and the spirit that resides within each note. This book was truly a case of the guru finding the seeker when the seeker needed the guru most. I'm not sure if this is the greatest collection of Kabir but it was the greatest collection at the time...not the greatest book perhaps, but the greatest book at the time for certain.
I look forward to stumbling upon more of Kabir's works.
I look forward to stumbling upon more of Kabir's works.
May 6, 2021
"Alas! the true fountain of life is beside you, and you have set up a stone to worship".
"O bodiless one! do not sit on your doorstep; go forth and bathe yourself in that rain! There it is ever moonlight and never dark; and who speaks of one sun only? That land is illuminated with the rays of a million suns".
"Behold! How great is my good fortune! I have received the unending caress of my Beloved!"
"O bodiless one! do not sit on your doorstep; go forth and bathe yourself in that rain! There it is ever moonlight and never dark; and who speaks of one sun only? That land is illuminated with the rays of a million suns".
"Behold! How great is my good fortune! I have received the unending caress of my Beloved!"
December 18, 2013
Poetic verses of one of the leading saints of the Bhakti era. Excellent foreword and Tagore' s translation makes it very much possible to enjoy the colloquial wisdom of Kabir in the Anglo-Saxon tongue.
June 3, 2017
So much truth in Kabir's timeless verses. Don't just read it, feel it.
October 30, 2019
Written in the 15th century by a wise Indian man, I found myself with little to no context for the majority of these short poem. My knowledge and/or understanding of Hindu gods and goddesses is very scant. It was interesting and the form was a bit unusual.
November 30, 2014
Fantastic!
September 9, 2017
I recommend this book, much!
March 23, 2018
i'd grab a beer with this guy
September 8, 2018
Oh Kabir! How could I love you less?
Read
January 17, 2021'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.
Kabîr 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."'
'O brother! when I was forgetful, my true Guru showed me the Way.
Then I left off all rites and ceremonies, I bathed no more in the holy water:
Then I learned that it was I alone who was mad, and the whole world beside me was sane; and I had disturbed these wise people.
From that time forth I knew no more how to roll in the dust in obeisance:
I do not ring the temple bell:
I do not set the idol on its throne:
I do not worship the image with flowers.
It is not the austerities that mortify the flesh which are pleasing to the Lord,
When you leave off your clothes and kill your senses, you do not please the Lord:
The man who is kind and who practises righteousness, who remains passive amidst the affairs of the world, who considers all creatures on earth as his own self,
He attains the Immortal Being, the true God is ever with him.
Kabir says: " He attains the true Name whose words are pure, and who is free from pride and conceit. "'
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.
Kabîr 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."'
'O brother! when I was forgetful, my true Guru showed me the Way.
Then I left off all rites and ceremonies, I bathed no more in the holy water:
Then I learned that it was I alone who was mad, and the whole world beside me was sane; and I had disturbed these wise people.
From that time forth I knew no more how to roll in the dust in obeisance:
I do not ring the temple bell:
I do not set the idol on its throne:
I do not worship the image with flowers.
It is not the austerities that mortify the flesh which are pleasing to the Lord,
When you leave off your clothes and kill your senses, you do not please the Lord:
The man who is kind and who practises righteousness, who remains passive amidst the affairs of the world, who considers all creatures on earth as his own self,
He attains the Immortal Being, the true God is ever with him.
Kabir says: " He attains the true Name whose words are pure, and who is free from pride and conceit. "'
January 22, 2016
This collection of lovely and inoffensive poems is most striking to me for its unusual syncretism of Hindu and Sufi styles, generally adopting a standard nondualistic and apophatic view of the former, and embracing the ecstatic use of love-imagery of the latter. This syncretism is rarely explicitly thematized, as in this verse:
O Servant, where dost thou seek Me?
Lo! I am beside thee.
I am neither in temple nor in mosque: I am neither in Kaaba nor in Kailash:
Neither am I in rites and ceremonies, nor in Yoga and renunciation.
If thou art a true seeker, thou shalt at once see Me: thou shalt meet Me in a moment of time.
Kabîr says, "O Sadhu! God is the breath of all breath."
More typically, the vision of God is advaita, and the poetic style is essentially Sufi.
There is nothing, then, in this translation to indicate that Kabir was particularly innovative either in idea or technique of expression - whatever novelty is found in his verse probably remains in the original. Nor is Tagore's competent rendering particularly groundbreaking, but reminds one of FitzGerald's Rubaiyat, with strongly Romantic patterns.
Once I absorbed its basic vision, for me the poems became fairly repetitive. I have only so much appetite for reading about self-playing instruments, infinite bliss, and million-petaled lotuses of the Beloved's inner chambers.
O Servant, where dost thou seek Me?
Lo! I am beside thee.
I am neither in temple nor in mosque: I am neither in Kaaba nor in Kailash:
Neither am I in rites and ceremonies, nor in Yoga and renunciation.
If thou art a true seeker, thou shalt at once see Me: thou shalt meet Me in a moment of time.
Kabîr says, "O Sadhu! God is the breath of all breath."
More typically, the vision of God is advaita, and the poetic style is essentially Sufi.
There is nothing, then, in this translation to indicate that Kabir was particularly innovative either in idea or technique of expression - whatever novelty is found in his verse probably remains in the original. Nor is Tagore's competent rendering particularly groundbreaking, but reminds one of FitzGerald's Rubaiyat, with strongly Romantic patterns.
Once I absorbed its basic vision, for me the poems became fairly repetitive. I have only so much appetite for reading about self-playing instruments, infinite bliss, and million-petaled lotuses of the Beloved's inner chambers.
July 6, 2016
There was a time when my naive, religious little self would’ve found comfort in these poems.
Today, however, they rang hollow.
Basically this is a beautiful collection of words, but its purpose remains useless to me. Many poems that began with an engaging start ultimately ended with ‘Lord this’ and ‘Lord that’—my nonexistent archenemy.
Frankly, my nihilistic brain doesn’t have time for this nonsense.
Today, however, they rang hollow.
Basically this is a beautiful collection of words, but its purpose remains useless to me. Many poems that began with an engaging start ultimately ended with ‘Lord this’ and ‘Lord that’—my nonexistent archenemy.
Frankly, my nihilistic brain doesn’t have time for this nonsense.
January 27, 2019
Can you surrender to some VERY contemporary translating? The introductions make a solid case for Kabir as an iconoclast, a punk rock mystic canonized too quickly and too lazily to perfectly excavate at this remove. Mehrota also groups poems thematically, which is a great service.
It’s a mess,
But you’re there
To sort it out.
Cock of the walk,
In great shape,
Keeping the best
Company:
That’s me.
Listen, says Kabir,
I have a prayer to make.
I’m handcuffed to death.
Throw me the key.
-KG 44
It’s a mess,
But you’re there
To sort it out.
Cock of the walk,
In great shape,
Keeping the best
Company:
That’s me.
Listen, says Kabir,
I have a prayer to make.
I’m handcuffed to death.
Throw me the key.
-KG 44
June 21, 2021
A blurb on the back of this book likens Kabir to Rumi and that seems pretty right on to me. I really enjoyed this. A favorite stanza: Twelve years were/to childhood lost;/twenty to youth;/middle age took care of/all the rest./It's too late/to have regrets.
September 8, 2025
Kabir is such a larger-than-life character in the Bhakta tradition, neatly fitting in with the likes of Mirabai and Laleshwari. For a beginner diving into his Canon, this particular edition is great. I do wish they included the original text or maybe a transliteration of it. It would’ve been cool to read through Kabir’s words as is.
I think perhaps at a later date when I'm more world-worn I could give Kabir another go to fully grasp the depth of this message. However, at this stage, I failed to make sense of the devotional elements of his poetry—what he feels for his Lord. He sketches such an intimate portrait of his reverential love; when and if I revisit him (which I most certainly will), I hope to get a sliver of understanding.
He, to me, seems the break-all type. He’s intent on pointing out the contradictions and the arbitrary boxes people place themselves in, but then he never moves past it, at least that’s how I see it, but then it might as well be deliberate on his part. He may point out that Rama is everywhere and we must seek him, but how? That’s our responsibility.
But then why should one seek guidance from a devotional text? Kabir says his truth; that's his entire purpose. His love for Rama/Hari is enough—never mind if we get it or not.
I think perhaps at a later date when I'm more world-worn I could give Kabir another go to fully grasp the depth of this message. However, at this stage, I failed to make sense of the devotional elements of his poetry—what he feels for his Lord. He sketches such an intimate portrait of his reverential love; when and if I revisit him (which I most certainly will), I hope to get a sliver of understanding.
He, to me, seems the break-all type. He’s intent on pointing out the contradictions and the arbitrary boxes people place themselves in, but then he never moves past it, at least that’s how I see it, but then it might as well be deliberate on his part. He may point out that Rama is everywhere and we must seek him, but how? That’s our responsibility.
But then why should one seek guidance from a devotional text? Kabir says his truth; that's his entire purpose. His love for Rama/Hari is enough—never mind if we get it or not.
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