The Essential Works of Tagore. Rabindranath Tagore

at a distance from you, then it is but the

       distance that you honour:

       If indeed the Master be far away, then who is it else that is

       creating this world?

       When you think that He is not here, then you wander further and

       further away, and seek Him in vain with tears.

       Where He is far off, there He is unattainable: where He is near,

       He is very bliss.

       Kabîr says: "Lest His servant should suffer pain He pervades him

       through and through."

       Know yourself then, O Kabîr; for He is in you from head to foot.

       Sing with gladness, and keep your seat unmoved within your heart.

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      III. 66. nâ main dharmî nahîn adharmî

      I am neither pious nor ungodly, I live neither by law nor by

       sense,

       I am neither a speaker nor hearer, I am neither a servant nor

       master, I am neither bond nor free,

       I am neither detached nor attached.

       I am far from none: I am near to none.

       I shall go neither to hell nor to heaven.

       I do all works; yet I am apart from all works.

       Few comprehend my meaning: he who can comprehend it, he sits

       unmoved.

       Kabîr seeks neither to establish nor to destroy.

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      III. 69. satta nâm hai sab ten nyârâ

      The true Name is like none other name!

       The distinction of the Conditioned from the Unconditioned is but

       a word:

       The Unconditioned is the seed, the Conditioned is the flower and

       the fruit.

       Knowledge is the branch, and the Name is the root.

       Look, and see where the root is: happiness shall be yours when

       you come to the root.

       The root will lead you to the branch, the leaf, the flower, and

       the fruit:

       It is the encounter with the Lord, it is the attainment of bliss,

       it is the reconciliation of the Conditioned and the

       Unconditioned.

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      III. 74. pratham ek jo âpai âp

      In the beginning was He alone, sufficient unto Himself: the

       formless, colourless, and unconditioned Being.

       Then was there neither beginning, middle, nor end;

       Then were no eyes, no darkness, no light;

       Then were no ground, air, nor sky; no fire, water, nor earth; no

       rivers like the Ganges and the Jumna, no seas, oceans, and waves.

       Then was neither vice nor virtue; scriptures there were not, as

       the Vedas and Puranas, nor as the Koran.

       Kabîr ponders in his mind and says, "Then was there no activity:

       the Supreme Being remained merged in the unknown depths of His

       own self."

       The Guru neither eats nor drinks, neither lives nor dies:

       Neither has He form, line, colour, nor vesture.

       He who has neither caste nor clan nor anything else—how may I

       describe His glory?

       He has neither form nor formlessness,

       He has no name,

       He has neither colour nor colourlessness,

       He has no dwelling-place.

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      III. 76. kahain Kabîr vicâr ke

      Kabîr ponders and says: "He who has neither caste nor country,

       who is formless and without quality, fills all space."

       The Creator brought into being the Game of Joy: and from the word

       Om the Creation sprang.

       The earth is His joy; His joy is the sky;

       His joy is the flashing of the sun and the moon;

       His joy is the beginning, the middle, and the end;

       His joy is eyes, darkness, and light.

       Oceans and waves are His joy: His joy the Sarasvati, the Jumna,

       and the Ganges.

       The Guru is One: and life and death., union and separation, are

       all His plays of joy!

       His play the land and water, the whole universe!

       His play the earth and the sky!

       In play is the Creation spread out, in play it is established.

       The whole world, says Kabîr, rests in His play, yet still the

       Player remains unknown.

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      III. 84. jhî jhî jantar bâjai

      The harp gives forth murmurous music; and the dance goes on

       without hands and feet.

       It is played without fingers, it is heard without ears: for He is

       the ear, and He is the listener.

       The gate is locked, but within there is fragrance: and there the

       meeting is seen of none.

       The wise shall understand it.

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      III. 89. mor phakîrwâ mângi jây

      The Beggar goes a-begging, but

       I could not even catch sight of Him:

       And what shall I beg of the Beggar He gives without my asking.

       Kabîr says: "I am His own: now let that befall which may befall!"

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      III. 90. naihar se jiyarâ phât re

      My