Hindi poetry -- Translations into English; Indic poetry -- Translations into English
The Yogi dyes his garments, instead of dyeing his mind in the
colours of love:
He sits within the temple of the Lord, leaving Brahma to worship
a stone.
He pierces holes in his ears, he has a great beard and matted
locks, he looks like a goat:
He goes forth into the wilderness, killing all his desires, and
turns himself into an eunuch:
He shaves his head and dyes his garments; he reads the Gîtâ and
becomes a mighty talker.
Kabîr says: "You are going to the doors of death, bound hand and
foot!"
LXVII
I. 9. _nâ jâne sâhab kaisâ hai_
I do not know what manner of God is mine.
The Mullah cries aloud to Him: and why? Is your Lord deaf? The
subtle anklets that ring on the feet of an insect when it moves
are heard of Him.
Tell your beads, paint your forehead with the mark of your God,
and wear matted locks long and showy: but a deadly weapon is in
your heart, and how shall you have God?
LXVIII
III. 102. _ham se rahâ na jây_
I hear the melody of His flute, and I cannot contain myself:
The flower blooms, though it is not spring; and already the bee
has received its invitation.
The sky roars and the lightning flashes, the waves arise in my
heart,
The rain falls; and my heart longs for my Lord.
Where the rhythm of the world rises and falls, thither my heart
has reached:
There the hidden banners are fluttering in the air.
Kabîr says: "My heart is dying, though it lives."
LXIX
III. 2. _jo khodâ masjid vasat hai_
If God be within the mosque, then to whom does this world belong?
If Ram be within the image which you find upon your pilgrimage,
then who is there to know what happens without?
Hari is in the East: Allah is in the West. Look within your
heart, for there you will find both Karim and Ram;
All the men and women of the world are His living forms.
Kabîr is the child of Allah and of Ram: He is my Guru, He is my
Pir.
LXX
III. 9. _s'îl santosh sadâ samadrishti_
He who is meek and contented., he who has an equal vision, whose
mind is filled with the fullness of acceptance and of rest;
He who has seen Him and touched Him, he is freed from all fear
and trouble.
To him the perpetual thought of God is like sandal paste smeared
on the body, to him nothing else is delight:
His work and his rest are filled with music: he sheds abroad the
radiance of love.
Kabîr says: "Touch His feet, who is one and indivisible,
immutable and peaceful; who fills all vessels to the brim with
joy, and whose form is love."
LXXI
III. 13. _sâdh sangat pîtam_
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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