Says Kabir: Lessons on Mindfulness in Kabir’s Poetry

Kabir, a 15th century North Indian mystic poet, is revered as a saint. Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs alike have claimed and honoured him with names they understood for sainthood. He was monumental in promoting religious harmony in Northern India and legends of his birth and death both conform to this ideal. Few details of his birth are known with certainty but what lives is a mystical and fantastic legend. 

The most common account says that he was born a Hindu and abandoned as a baby in a basket floating in a pond. He was found and raised by a family of Muslim weavers. Raised as a Muslim in his early life, he grew to be heavily influenced by Hinduism and spent his life searching for the “true God”. At his death, when Hindu and Muslim devotees fought over whether to bury or cremate him, it is said that the corpse turned into a bunch of flowers that each group took away to perform last rites according to their tenets.

Kabir recited his poems for common people in their own vernacular, Hindi, often borrowing from local dialects. His verbally composed couplets and songs have since been recorded and though not always accurately attributed, they have had a lasting influence in Hindi poetry and thought. From his vast repertoire, we bring you a selection of verses that capture his lessons on mindfulness and meditation.

moko kahan dhunde re bande, main to tere paas me

na main bakari, na main bhedi, na main chhuri gadas me

nahi khal me, nahi poonchh me, na haddi na maans me

na mein deval, na mein masjid, na kaabe kailaash me

na mein kiriya karam me rehta, nahi jog sanyaas me

khoji hoy turat mili jaaun, ek pal ki talaash me

main toh raho shahar ke baahar, meri puri mawaas me.

kahe Kabir suno bhai saadho, sab saanso ki saans me

//

Where are you looking for me, O seeker? I am right next to you

I am neither in goat nor in sheep, neither I am in the knife or sword

I am not in the skin, in the tail, in bones or meat

I am neither in the temple nor in the mosque. I am not in the Kailash mountains or in the Kaaba

I am not in the deeds of the material world nor in renunciation

I am found in one moment’s search, if a seeker were to seek

I am outside of the city, I live in the fort

Says Kabir — listen carefully, God is within the breath of every breath

This poem is laden with references to rituals, sacrifices and pilgrimages that do not necessarily lead to divine realisation, and therefore, he suggests an alternate path:

jaise til mein tel hai, jyon chamak mein aag

tera sai tujh mein hai, tu jaag sake toh jaag

//

Just as mustard seed bears oil, and a spark carries the essence of fire,

Your Lord lies within you, awaken him if you can.

His verses advise patience, persistence and deliberation:

dheere dheere re mana, dheere sab kuch hoye

maali seenche sau ghara, ritu aaye phal hoye

//

Slowly, slowly, O mind, everything unfolds at its own pace,

The gardener may water with a hundred pots of water, but the fruit only arrives in its season.

Moving from the divine to the worldly, Kabir teaches us how to maintain the value of objects and relationships:

ati parichay se hot hai, aruchi anaadar bhai

malyagiri ki bhilni, chandan deti jarai

//

It is familiarity and proximity that introduces distaste, irreverence;

Just like the women of Mayagiri who use sandalwood as firewood.

Finally, we leave you with this famous couplet which many a parent has used since, well, the 15th century:

kaal kare so aaj kar, aaj kare so ab

pal mein pralaya hoyegi, bahuri karoge kab

//

Finish tomorrow’s tasks today,

And today’s tasks right now.

When would you finish them,

If the world were to end the next moment?

If you enjoyed this Daak, why not share it with a friend or a loved one?

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