The Essential Works of Tagore. Rabindranath Tagore

      II. 113. vâlam, âwo hamâre geh re

      My body and my mind are grieved for the want of Thee;

       O my Beloved! come to my house.

       When people say I am Thy bride, I am ashamed; for I have not

       touched Thy heart with my heart.

       Then what is this love of mine? I have no taste for food, I have

       no sleep; my heart is ever restless within doors and without.

       As water is to the thirsty, so is the lover to the bride. Who is

       there that will carry my news to my Beloved?

       Kabîr is restless: he is dying for sight of Him.

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      II. 126. jâg piyârî, ab kân sowai

      O friend, awake, and sleep no more!

       The night is over and gone, would you lose your day also?

       Others, who have wakened, have received jewels;

       O foolish woman! you have lost all whilst you slept.

       Your lover is wise, and you are foolish, O woman!

       You never prepared the bed of your husband:

       O mad one! you passed your time in silly play.

       Your youth was passed in vain, for you did not know your Lord;

       Wake, wake! See! your bed is empty: He left you in the night.

       Kabîr says: "Only she wakes, whose heart is pierced with the

       arrow of His music."

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      I. 36. sûr parkâs', tanh rain kahân pâïye

      Where is the night, when the sun is shining? If it is night,

       then the sun withdraws its light. Where knowledge is, can

       ignorance endure?

       If there be ignorance, then knowledge must die.

       If there be lust, how can love be there? Where there is love,

       there is no lust.

      Lay hold on your sword, and join in the fight. Fight, O my

       brother, as long as life lasts.

       Strike off your enemy's head, and there make an end of him

       quickly: then come, and bow your head at your King's Durbar.

       He who is brave, never forsakes the battle: he who flies from it

       is no true fighter.

       In the field of this body a great war goes forward, against

       passion, anger, pride, and greed:

       It is in the kingdom of truth, contentment and purity, that this

       battle is raging; and the sword that rings forth most loudly is

       the sword of His Name.

       Kabîr says: "When a brave knight takes the field, a host of

       cowards is put to flight.

       It is a hard fight and a weary one, this fight of the

       truth-seeker: for the vow of the truth-seeker is more hard than

       that of the warrior, or of the widowed wife who would follow her

       husband.

       For the warrior fights for a few hours, and the widow's struggle

       with death is soon ended:

       But the truth-seeker's battle goes on day and night, as long as

       life lasts it never ceases."

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      I. 50. bhram kâ tâlâ lagâ mahal re

      The lock of error shuts the gate, open it with the key of love:

       Thus, by opening the door, thou shalt wake the Beloved.

       Kabîr says: "O brother! do not pass by such good fortune as

       this."

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      I. 59. sâdho, yah tan thâth tanvure ka

      O friend! this body is His lyre; He tightens its strings, and

       draws from it the melody of Brahma.

       If the strings snap and the keys slacken, then to dust must this

       instrument of dust return:

       Kabîr says: "None but Brahma can evoke its melodies."

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      I. 65. avadhû bhûle ko ghar lâwe

      He is dear to me indeed who can call back the wanderer to his

       home. In the home is the true union, in the home is enjoyment

       of life: why should I forsake my home and wander in the forest?

       If Brahma helps me to realize truth, verily I will find both

       bondage and deliverance in home.

       He is dear to me indeed who has power to dive deep into Brahma;

       whose mind loses itself with ease in His contemplation.

       He is dear to me who knows Brahma, and can dwell on His supreme

       truth in meditation; and who can play the melody of the

       Infinite by uniting love and renunciation in life.

       Kabîr says: "The home is the abiding place; in the home is

       reality; the home helps to attain Him Who is real. So stay

       where you are, and all things shall come to you in time."

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      I. 76. santo, sahaj samâdh bhalî

      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