The Essential Works of Tagore. Rabindranath Tagore

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."

XLII

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      I. 79. tîrath men to sab pânî hai

      There is nothing but water at the holy bathing places; and I know

       that they are useless, for I have bathed in them.

       The images are all lifeless, they cannot speak; I know, for I

       have cried aloud to them.

       The Purana and the Koran are mere words; lifting up the curtain,

       I have seen.

       Kabîr gives utterance to the words of experience; and he knows

       very well that all other things are untrue.

XLIII

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      I. 82. pânî vic mîn piyâsî

      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.

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      I. 93. gagan math gaib nisân gade

      The Hidden Banner is planted in the temple of the sky; there the

       blue canopy decked with the moon and set with bright jewels is

       spread.

       There the light of the sun and the moon is shining: still your

       mind to silence before that splendour.

       Kabîr says: "He who has drunk of this nectar, wanders like one

       who is mad."

XLV

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      I. 97. sâdho, ko hai kânh se âyo

      Who are you, and whence do you come?

       Where dwells that Supreme Spirit, and how does He have His sport

       with all created things?

       The fire is in the wood; but who awakens it suddenly? Then it

       turns to ashes, and where goes the force of the fire?

       The true guru teaches that He has neither limit nor infinitude.

       Kabîr says: "Brahma suits His language to the understanding of

       His hearer."

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      I. 98. sâdho, sahajai kâyâ s'odho

      O sadhu! purify your body in the simple way.

       As the seed is within the banyan tree, and within the seed are

       the flowers, the fruits, and the shade:

       So the germ is within the body, and within that germ is the body

       again.

       The fire, the air, the water, the earth, and the aether; you

       cannot have these outside of Him.

       O, Kazi, O Pundit, consider it well: what is there that is not in

       the soul?

       The water-filled pitcher is placed upon water, it has water

       within and without.

       It should not be given a name, lest it call forth the error of

       dualism.

       Kabîr says: "Listen to the Word, the Truth, which is your

       essence. He speaks the Word to Himself; and He Himself is the

       Creator."

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      I. 102. tarvar ek mûl vin thâdâ

      There is a strange tree, which stands without roots and bears

       fruits without blossoming;

       It has no branches and no leaves, it is lotus all over.

       Two birds sing there; one is the Guru, and the other the

       disciple:

       The disciple chooses the manifold fruits of life and tastes them,

       and the Guru beholds him in joy.

       What Kabîr says is hard to understand: "The bird is beyond

       seeking, yet it is most clearly visible. The Formless is in

       the midst of all forms. I sing the glory of forms."

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      I. 107. calat mansâ acal kînhî

      I have stilled my restless mind, and my heart is radiant: for in

       Thatness I have seen beyond That-ness. In company I have seen

       the Comrade Himself.

       Living in bondage, I have set myself free: I have broken away

       from the clutch of all narrowness.

       Kabîr says: "I have attained the unattainable, and my heart is

       coloured with the colour of love."

XLIX

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      I. 105. jo dîsai, so to hai nâhîn

      That which you see is not: and for that which is, you have no

       words.

       Unless you see, you believe not: what is told you you cannot

       accept.

       He who is discerning knows by the word; and the ignorant stands

       gaping.

       Some contemplate the Formless, and others meditate on form: but

       the wise man knows that Brahma is beyond both.

       That beauty of His is not seen of the eye: that metre of His is