Complete Works. Rabindranath Tagore

Contents

      I. 20. man na rangâye

      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!"

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      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?

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      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."

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      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.

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      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."

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      III. 13. sâdh sangat pîtam

      Go thou to the company of the good, where the Beloved One has His

       dwelling place:

       Take all thy thoughts and love and instruction from thence.

       Let that assembly be burnt to ashes where His Name is not spoken!

       Tell me, how couldst thou hold a wedding-feast, if the bridegroom

       himself were not there?

       Waver no more, think only of the Beloved;

       Set not thy heart on the worship of other gods, there is no worth

       in the worship of other masters.

       Kabîr deliberates and says: "Thus thou shalt never find the

       Beloved!"

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      III. 26. tor hîrâ hirâilwâ kîcad men

      The jewel is lost in the mud, and all are seeking for it;

       Some look for it in the east, and some in the west; some in the

       water and some amongst stones.

       But the servant Kabîr has appraised it at its true value, and has

       wrapped it with care in the end of the mantle of his heart.

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      III. 26. âyau din gaune kâ ho

      The palanquin came to take me away to my husband's home, and it

       sent through my heart a thrill of joy;

       But the bearers have brought me into the lonely forest, where I

       have no one of my own.

       O bearers, I entreat you by your feet, wait but a moment longer:

       let me go back to my kinsmen and friends, and take my leave of

       them.

       The servant Kabîr sings: "O Sadhu! finish your buying and

       selling, have done with your good and your bad: for there are

       no markets and no shops in the land to which you go."

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      III. 30. are dil, prem nagar kä ant na pâyâ

      O my heart! you have not