Shabad (Poem)- 22

'kaun marai kahu pandit janaa'

Who perishes?
O learned men, just explain.

Dust merges into dust,
air with air flies.

Says Kabir, listen O wise one,
it's this body that dies.
...

Shabad (Poem)-21

'Kaun thagvaa hamaar nagariyaa lootal ho'

Some thug has come to loot this city.

The bride sleeps on sandalwood bed,
O friend, come to comb her hair,
her groom has deserted her.
The god of Death is upon her bed,
her eyes shed tears.
Four men have lifted her cot,
and soon the fire will engulf her.

Says Kabir, listen O wise one,
the bride is just snapping
her ties with the world.
...

Shabad (Poem)-20

'Ghoonghat ke pat khol re, tohe piyaa milenge'

Lift the veil off your face,
O friend, you'll find your love.

In all beings dwells the Lord,
say no harsh word,
O friend, you'll find your love.

A hundred lamps burn
in the pleasure-house,
You leave not your seat,
O friend, you'll find your love.

Says Kabir, listen O wise one,
the drum that beats within your self,
you'll find your Love.
...

Shabad (Poem)-19

'Mori chunri men pari gayo daag piyaa'

O my love, my stole is stained.

Made up of five elements,
this stole has now hundreds of holes.

It was gifted by my mother, but
I've sullied it at my husband's home.

Repeatedly I've washed it with the soap of knowledge,
but the stains have still remained.

Says Kabir, the stains will go,
only when the Guru washes the stole.
...

Shabad (Poem)-18

'Mor heeraa hiraigayaa kachre men'

The diamond has been lost in the garbage.

Some search for it in the east,
some in the west,
some in water and some among stones.

Led astray by the five senses, their habits
and impulses, men are entangled in tensions;
even the gods and sages and renunciates,
are just enmeshed in their tantrums.

But, says Kabir, he has come
to realise his diamond's true cost;
he has hidden it in his heart's mantle,
And from there it won't be lost.
...

Shabad (Poem)-17

'Man laago mero yaar fakiri men'

Friend, my heart now rejoices in renunciation.
The bliss I've attained chanting the Lord's Name,
Through riches it can never be gained.

I go on with my poor living, not minding
What the people say - in praise or denunciation.

My dwelling is in the city of His love,
I seek solace in patient suffering.
A staff and a bowl in my hands, I roam around
I have my fiefdom in every direction.

O friend, in dust this life has to end,
Then why with pride you are puffed?
Says Kabir, listen, O wise one,
The Lord is met in contentment.
...

Shabad (Poem)-16

'Kuchha lenaa na denaa, magan rahnaa'

O friend, be detached and happy within.
The river is deep and the boat quite old,
Let the boatman guide you through thick and thin.

Of five elements is this cage,
In which is the soul-bird singing;
Open your eyes and see it clear -
Your Love within yourself is dwelling.

Says Kabir, listen, O wise one,
Cling on to Guru's feet,
If you want to meet Him within.
...

Shabad (Poem)-15

'ham na marain, mare sansaaraa'

The world will die, I won't,
for I have found my Saviour.

If God dies, I too shall die,
if He doesn't, why shall I?

Fools die, but the wise live on,
drinking as they are the elixir of Lord's Name.

Says Kabir, my Guru has led my mind to the Self,
Having found Eternal Bliss, I've become deathless.
...

Shabad (Poem)-14

'Ghar ghar deepak barai'

Lamp burns in every house,
but the blind can't see;

who gazes steadily at that light,
is from bonds of death freed.

is anything there for you to say,
or hear or do when you die ?

if you are dead while still alive,
will there be death for you again?

The yogi in his detachment says
that his home is far away,

like the fool who climbs the palm
to look for the Lord, who's within.

House to house, the priest moves on
doling out sermons of faith,

and you holding life-drug yourself,
pray before an idol of stone.

Says Kabir, my Lord is sweet,
and He can be easily attained;

meditation or counting of beads,
virtues and sins, are no avail.
...

Shabad (Poem)-13

'Moko kahaan dhoondho re bande'

Why do you seek Me here and there,
O fool, I am within you.
In idol or pilgrimage I'm not found,
Nor in some remote dwelling anywhere.

My residence is not in a temple or mosque,
Nor in the Holy Kaaba or Kailash;
I'm also not in rituals or fasts,
Nor in yogic practice or renunciation.

Who seeks Me truly, finds Me in an instant.

Says Kabir, listen O wise one,
God is in the breath of all beings.
...

Shabad (Poem)- 12

'apne ghat men diunaa baaru re'

Light the lamp within your heart, O friend.
It is deeply dark within,
Brighten it up with the spark of Brahma.

As you gaze at the flame in the temple of your heart,
All bonds of body, mind and wealth become irrelevant.
Know for certain that earthly desires are false,
And hence must be shunned ceaselessly.

Says Kabir, O wise one,
Strive for the good of your self.
...

Shabad (Poem)-11

'saadho yah tan thaath tambure kaa'

O wise one, this body is a lyre.
When its strings are tightened and the keys screwed,
the self within it breaks into a sweet tune.
When the strings get snapped and the keys become loose,
The instrument is left to gather dust.

Friend, don't take pride in this body,
Its swan one day will fly away.

Says Kabir, listen, O brother,
Rare is he who bravely walks
The arduous path that leads to Him.
...

Shabad (Poem)-10

'Lagan bin jaage naa nirmohi'

The Unattached One will not awaken
if you have no devotion, O fool.
Love without feeling is indeed
like washing oneself with dew-drops.

We are all dependant on God,
what he has willed, that only will happen.

How much hard you may try,
without His grace the true Guru is not to be found.

Says Kabir, listen, O wise one,
salvation without a Guru is not around.

...

Shabad (Poem)-9

'Tu to Raam sumir jag ladne de'

Let the world go on arguing,
Friend, you just seek the Lord.

On a paper blank with ink all black,
those who want to read and write, let them be,
Friend, you just seek the Lord.

As an elephant goes on his way
not minding the barking dogs,
Friend you just seek the Lord.

Those who worship gods and goddesses,
let them be, Friend, you just seek the Lord.

Says Kabir, listen, O wise one,
if one is keen to plunge into hell, let him be,
Friend, you just seek your Lord.

...

Shabad (Poem)-8

'Gagan kee oat nisaanaa hai'

The target is behind the sky.
The sun's on the right, the moon on the left-
in between it remains hidden.

This body is a bow,
the mind its string,
and the Word, its arrow- aimed straight.

The messenger of the True Guru- that it is-
this arrow has pierced all bodily impurity.

This arrow doesn't any injury inflict-
they know who have indeed felt it.

Says Kabir, listen, O wise one,
those who have known,
they only acknowledge it.

...

Shabad (Poem)-7

'Bande kar le aap niberaa'

O Slave, liberate yourself.
Where are you, and where's your home-
find it in your lifetime, Man.

If you fail to wake up now,
you'll be helpless when the end comes.

Says Kabir: Listen O wise one,
the seige of Death is hard to withstand.

.......

Shabad (Poem)-6

'Paani men meen piyaasee'

I burst into laughter
whenever I hear
that the fish is thirsty in water.

Without the knowledge of Self
people just wander
to Mathura or to Kashi,
like the muskdeer unaware of the scent in his navel,
goes on running forest to forest.

In water is the lotus plant
and the plant bears flowers
and on the flowers are the bees buzzing,
likewise all yogis and mendicants
and all those who have renounced comforts,
are on here and hereafter and the nether world- contemplating.

Friend, the Supreme Indestructible Being
on whom thousands of sages meditate
and even Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh-
really resides within one's self.

Although He is near, He appears far away
and that is what makes one disturbed;
says Kabir, listen, O wise one,
by Guru alone is the confusion curbed.

....

Shabad (Poem)-5

'Nar tu paar utar kahan jaiho'

Having crossed the river,
where will you go, O friend?
There's no road to tread,
no traveller ahead,
neither a beginning, nor an end.

There's no water, no boat, no boatman, no cord;
No earth is there, no sky, no time, no bank, no ford.

You have forgotten the Self within,
Your search in the void will be in vain;
In a moment the life will ebb
And in this body you won't remain.

Be ever conscious of this, O friend,
You've to immerse within your Self;
Kabir says, salvation you won't then need,
For what you are, you would be indeed.
...

Shabad (Poem)-4

'Rahnaa nahin desa biraana hai'

Nothing abides in this alien land.

This world is like a papery wrap

that dissolves in the drops of water.

It is like a hedge full of thorns

wherein one dies if entangled.

It is indeed all bush and thickets

that quickly burn when caught in fire.

Says Kabir, listen, O wise one,

only in the teachings of the true Guru

is to be found an abiding abode.

...

Shabad (Poem)-3

'Hansa sudhi karo aapan desa'

O swan, fly back to your own country.

Having forgotten from where you have come,
you've ventured into an alien land.

In your country there's no ploughing nor sowing,
yet the fruits of divine pleasure are ever growing.

In that land there's no death or disease,
nor does one meet any sorrow or misery.

O swan, fly to the lake of His knowledge
to pick jewels for ever and ever.

Says Kabir, listen O wise one,
that country is verily abiding and eternal.
...

Shabad (Poem)-2

'Ab to amar pad paayaa hai'

I have attained the Eternal Bliss.

No time is there for sorrow or pain
for I now enjoy singing His glory.

The tree of His pleasure has no root, nor seed,
as revealed to me by the grace of the true Guru.

Now there is effulgence of a million suns,
my soul having dipped in the lake of His knowledge.

Says Kabir, listen O wise one,
now comings and goings have come to an end.
...

Doha (Couplet)-2

Original:

Turk majeed, dehraa Hindu, aap aapko dhaaya
Alakh purusha ghat bheetare, taako dvaar na paaya.

Translation:

The Hindu goes to his temple, the Muslim to his mosque,
The Invisible who dwells in the heart, His door nobody knocks.
...

Shabad (Poem)-1

'Guru bin kaun bataave baat'

But for the Guru who is there
to show you the way?

The path you've chosen is one where
greed and anger stand like mountains,
between which the river of confusion flows,
dammed up by your tall ego.

Where lust like a thief lurks around,
clouds of pride and envy rain
and the breeze of illusion blows.

Says Kabir, listen, O wise one,
isn't it absurd
to walk this path to cross the world ?
...

Doha (Couplet)-1

Original~

kabiraa khadaa bazaar men, liye lakutiyaa haath
je ghar phookyaa aapno, chale hamaare saath.

Translation:

In the market Kabir stands, with a staff in his hand,
Calling those who have burnt their dwellings, to join his band.
...