2. Kabir speaks about the human body and its components...

Transcription

1 1. What our soul is searching for?? Aisa koi na mila, jaso rahiye laag. Sab jag jalata dekhiya, apanee-apanee aag. I was searching for help, for love, someone where I could be myself being with him. But I couldn t find anyone. Everyone here is going through his or her own hell. All are troubled by either way. How can someone find peace and happiness here? Some saints say we are actually seeking intimacy or love, which is our true nature, because at the core we are ONE, one consciousness in so many expressions! When we tend to create our own world of desires and thoughts, a thin layer covers our being, we feel separated from the ONE and miss and seek this intimacy in so many forms-wealth, name, fame or relations!! Had Kabir also searched an intimacy and couldn t find?? The interesting thing is the more love grows within us, the more people feel intimate to us, and that is the reason people feel ultimate intimacy and bliss in the company of Saints!! Dil kaa maraham na mila, jo milaa so garajee. Kah kabir asmaan phate, kyokar seewe darajee. I couldn t find the ointment to heal the wounds of my heart. Who so ever I met, are selfobsessed, and are no good for others. Kabir says when the sky is torn, which tailor is capable to stitch it? So worse is the condition of Kabir, and he is not able to find a healer!! I assume here Kabir is referring about his restlessness for realization and search for a true Guru. 2. Kabir speaks about the human body and its components... Jheenee- jheenee beenee chadariyaa. Kaahe ke taanaa, kaahe ke bharani, kaun taar se beenee chadariya. Ingala-pingala taanaa bharanee, sushaman taar se beenee chadariyaa. Aath kawal das charakha dole, paanch tatva gun teenee chadariyaa. Saai ko siyat maas das laage, Thok-Thok ke beenee chadaryaa. So chadar sur-nar muni odhee, odh ke mailee keenee chadariyaa. Das Kabir jatan se odhee, jyo ki tyo dhar deenee chadariyaa. This body is nothing but clothing on the soul, as scriptures state it. In Bhagwadgita it is said that as we drop one old cloth and wear a new one, so our soul drops its body when it gets too old and torn and gets a new one. But what this cloth is made of? Kabir says this cloth (chadar, shawl) is made by thin linings. What are the Tana and Bana and which thread is used to weave this cloth? Ingala ( one nadi of three main nadees) and Pingala are like taana and baana( linings of weaver s tool on which he weaves cloths) and Sushmana thread is used to weave it. In this cloth, there are eight lotuses flowering (there is eighth lotus in Sant Mat Surati Kawal), and ten doors ( charkha, exit organs of body), five elements( earth, water,air, fire and ether) and three gunas( SAT, RAJ and TAM). My

2 Lord weaved this great cloth in ten months (pregnancy period of human being). He made it with great love and care. All deities, humans and monks wore this cloth and made it dirty. Blessed is Kabir who wore it with great care and put it down as pure as it was given to him by Lord. This clothing is not only this physical body but all layers of the soul. We get our body dirty and wash it with soap and water, but what about the filth of mind and heart?? We should keep cleaning them as well by doing meditation and devotion to Lord, so we could submit this soul as pure as he has made it. Dash dware kaa pinjaraa, taame panchhe paun. Rahibe ko acharaj hai, jaaye to acharaj kaun. This cage has ten doors (ten exit organs of body), and encaged bird (soul) is just like air. It is strange that it still remains in this cage; no wonder if it leaves it and flies away. Mori chunaree me pari gayo daag piyaa. Panch tatt kee bane chunariya, sorah sai band mora laage jiyaa. Ye chunaree more maike te aai, sasure me manwaa khoy diyaa. Mali mali dhoyi, daag na chute, gyaan ko saabun laaye piyaa. Kahe Kabeer daag tab chhutihe, jab sahib apanaay liyaa. Oh my dear beloved!! I got my chunri dirty with spots. This chunari is made of five elements (earth, air, water, fire and ether), and there are sixteen designs on it( five sense organs, five work organs, three gunas, mind, ego, and prana - vital life energy). I got this chunari from my parents and my mind got it lost at my in-laws house!! Now I try hard to wash it, but the spots are not washed away. O my dear beloved, please give me the soap of knowledge so I could get it washed. Kabir says nothing will work on it, only when Sahib (Lord) hugs you and takes you by his side, only then all your filth and spots will be cleansed. Our Mayaka or Naihar(parents home, though sometimes Kabir takes it in opposite meaning, e.g. Naihar indicates this world) as Kabir calls it -is true home of the soul and in-laws house is this illusionary world where we get engaged so many wrong deeds. Our chunri or shawl is the layers of body on our soul which gets dirty here, how will we be able to meet our Lord? Only by applying knowledge we can make it clean, and Lord s grace will help cleaning it. 3. Kabir on death scenes... HaaD jale jyo laakadee, kes jale jyu ghaas. Sab tan jalata dekhakar, bhaya Kabir udaas. The undeniable reality in this world is that who ever is born, will die one day and the greatest fear in this world is the fear of unknown- death. We feel this sorrow when we see someone dear leaving this world, and we feel this fear for ourselves as well. But our whole effort goes not to face, encounter and defeat this fear, but to escape away from this

3 reality as soon and as often we can. Only way to defeat this fear is to face it and then try to find a way to get out of it. We need to keep in mind this ultimate truth the death. Kabir has said this sad truth so many times. He says I saw the bones burning like wood, and hairs burning like gross. I saw the whole body burning in this way, I became very sad. Panee kera budbuda, as manus ki jaat. Dekhat hi chhup jaayega, jyu tare parbhaat. This human race (and this world as well) is nothing but like a bubble on the surface of the sea, it will vanish in little time like stars vanish when dawn falls. So short is this humans life and earth s as well. Kabir yah jag kuchh nahee, khin khaara khin meeth. Kaalh jo baitha mandape, aaj masaane deeth. This world is nothing; it is so suffering and painful, one moment is so sweet and another moment it is just bitter. Whom I saw under Mandap (Mandap rectangle structure under which marriage ceremony is performed under Mandap means getting married) yesterday, is lying in funeral today (yesterday he was enjoying his greatest joy, today he is dead). Aaaye hai to jaayenge, raja rank phakeer. Ek sinhaasan chadi chale, ek bandhe janjeer. Who ever has come here, has to leave one day, doesn t matter he or she is a beggar, a poor or a King. At the time of final journey, everyone goes on the same cot tied by the same chain ( rope used to tie the dead body). Ek din aisaa hoyega, kou kaahu kaa naahi. Ghar kee naaree ko kahe, tan kee naaree jaahi. Dear why do you forget the death? It is unavoidable, accept it. The day will come when Nadee of your body will leave you, what to say about Nadee( woman/wife) at your home? No one will go with you, not even your breaths (so try to be un-attached in this world and attach your soul to your Lord). Kabir jantra na baajai, TuTi gayae sab taar. Jantra bichara kya kare, gayaa bajaawanhaar. Now this instrument doesn t play a bit. All wires are broken, it is now of no use. What will this instrument do when the player has left it alone? This instrument is body and the player is the soul, when death ceases life and soul leaves the body, it is useless. Kabir kaahe garabiyo, Kaal gahe kar kesh. Naa jaane kahn maarisee, ke ghar ke pardes.

4 Kabir says what you are being so proud of? Time (Kaal) is standing nearby to grab your head by hairs in his hand. You never know where he will get you killed in your house or in foreign land. Kyaa bharosa deh ka, binas jaat chhan maanh. Saans-saans sumiran karo, aur jatan kachhu naah. This body is unreliable; no one knows when it will cheat you, when it will get destroyed by death. Do HIS simaran as you take breathes, don t keep thoughts of anything else. Patta TooTa daar se, lai gayi pawan udaay. Abake bichhade kab milenge, door parenge jay. When a leaf breaks off from a branch, it flies far away, doesn t come back to the tree. So are we souls, death takes us apart from all dear ones and we never return to them (always speak sweet and wear loving attitude). 4. Tricks of the mind... Bajigar kaa bandara, aisaa jeev man ke saath. Nana naach nachaay kar, raakhe apane saath. Like a Monkey performs so many acts by the order of his master, so has this soul become with its mind. Mind keeps full control over it and makes it running from one desire to another thus never lets it be free. Chalti chaaki dekhke, diya kabira roy. Dui paatan ke beech me, saabut bachaa n koy. Kabir wept when he saw the grinder running. Nothing could escape from this grinder; the two stones grind everything into pieces. Two stones of grinder are assumed as Kal and Maya or the earth and sky, sorrow and happiness. Kabir was so loving and full of compassion; he used to feel for others like his own. So even being enlightened, he often speaks about the trouble and pain souls get in this world. 6. Spider s Net... Ko chhutyo ihi jaal pari, kat kurang akulay. Jyo jyo surajhi bhajyo chahe, tyo tyo arujhat jay. Who is so strong, so clever to escape out from the web of this world? This is the web of illusion (MAYA); no one is able to cut its threads. Like a deer falls in a net, tries hard to get out of it, but more he tries to untie its knots, more it gets tied, and gets trapped more

5 densely so is the net of this MAYA. Kabir yah sansaar hai, jaisaa semal phool. Din das ke byohaar me, jhoothe rang na bhool This world is like flower of Semal(red and very attractive flower), which is attractive for few days. Don t get misled by it. Like a parrot keeps looking and waiting for this flower, thinking that one day it will bear sweet fruit, but when this flower gets fully flourished, the fruits are broken and cotton is spread away, leaving the parrot disappointed. So is this world, you keep working and guarding your business and relations that one day they will give you happiness and satisfaction, but when time comes, they start going their own way leaving you alone and disappointed. Find your true happiness, don t go for this illusion. Kabir gaaphil kyo phire, kyu sotaa ghanaghor. Tere siraane jam kharaa, jyu andhiyaare chor. Why do you wander so ignorant? Why do you waste your time in sleeping (sleeping is used here in both sense- sleeping physically and sleeping spiritually not in awaken state of consciousness)? Yam (deity of death) is standing near your bed, like a thieve stands silent in darkness (waiting to get a chance). Wake and save yourself from being slave at Yam s hand. Kabir naubat aapanee, din das lehu bajaay. Yah pur paatan yah galee, bahuri na dekhe aay. Beat your drum for ten days (very short period), play this drama of name and fame, richness and grandeur, power and kingdom (Naubat kind of drum which was used to announce new rules of King in his whole kingdom). You will not be visiting this state, this kingdom and this street again (so it is better to make best use of it). Jap-tap deesai thotharaa, Teerath-brat besaans. Suwe semal seviya, tau jag chalyaa niraash. No jaap, no tap(couldn t find exact word in English similar to hathyoga or giving trouble to body in hope to find GOD) seems to work out, all seem worthless to me. Going to holy places, doing fasting is useless. Like the parrot keeps looking on Semal flower in hope to get sweet fruit, so are these ceremonies, at last we will have to be disappointed (GOD can t be realized in this way). JhooThe sukh ko sukh kahe, maanat hai man mod. Khalak chabenaa kaal ka, kachhu mukh me kachhu god. This world enjoys in false things and becomes happy. It doesn t know this world is only snacks of Kaal, some are in his mouth and some are on lap (he will eat it soon!!!) Neend nishanee maut kee, Uth kabiraa jaag.

6 Aur rasaayan chhadi ke, naam rasaayan laag. Sleeping is the sign of death, O Kabir! Wake and stand up. Leave all other medicines /drugs and take the drug of Naam, so you will be immortal. Deh dhare ko dand hai, sab kahoo ko hoy. Gyanee bhugate gyan kari, moorakh bhugate roy. All pains and sufferings are kind of the punishment of taking this body. The wise person bears this punishment knowingly and wisely, and ignorant ones keep crying. Maya mui na man muaa, mari mari gaya shareer. Asha trishna na mui, yo kahi gyaa kabeer. Kabir says- We have gone through so many incarnations, our body died so many times, still we are not able to control our mind, neither we are able to defeat this illusion. Our hope and desires didn t die; they are still alive to keep us engaged in this illusionary world. Kabir maya papinee, hari su kare haraam. Mukh kadiyaalee kumati ki, kahan na dei Raam. Kabir says, this illusion (Maya) is great sinner, it does unfaithfulness to GOD. And our bad thoughts don t let us do simaran. Karata tha to kyu raha, ab kari kyu pachhtaay. Boye ped babool ka, amua kaha se paay. When you were doing all wrong deeds then you never thought about it. Why you are regretting it now? You saw seed of acacia (one tree with thorns only), how will you get mango fruits from it? What you saw, so shall you reap. Makhee gud me gari rahe, pankh rahe lipataay. Hath male aur sir dhune, laalach buri balaay. The bee went to taste the sweetmeat, and got trapped in greed. Now it is stuck in the sweetmeat and is unable to fly. Now it regrets that greed is the cause of great danger. So is the soul, got stuck in worldly pleasures, now it is unable to fly in infinite which is its true nature. Kagad kero naav dee, panee kera gang. Kahe kabeer kaise phirun, panch kusangi sang. Kabir says this world is full of great problems, how will I cross this river (bhavsaagarworld of illusion)? Here is the boat made by paper (body so vulnerable and easily

7 perishable), and the river is full of water. Again five bad friends (lust, greed, anger, attachment and ego) are with me, who try to lead me to wrong directions. O GOD, how will I be able to cross this huge river?? Main bhawaraa tohi barajiyaa, ban-ban baas na ley. ATakegaa kahun beli me, tadap-tadap jiy dey. Kabir says O my dear wasp! I forbade you so many times not to go wandering in jungles and taste the sweetness of flowers. It might be that you will get hooked by thorns and will have to die there. The wasp is the soul searching for sensual pleasures and mostly seeking for lust. The soul will get trapped and will not be able to progress further!! 7. Normal Human Behavior... Jihi ghat preet na premras, puni rasana nahi raam. Te nar is snsaar me, upaji bhaye bekaam. Those people who have hearts empty from love and devotion, and who don t do simaran of Ram, are a waste in this world. They didn t use their potentials; they just wasted their time and life. Jo ghar saadhu na poojiye, hari ki sewa naahi. Te ghar marghat saa dikhe, bhoot base tin maahi. The home where Saints are not welcome and praised and people are not at the service of GOD, are like cemetery, like full of ghosts (empty of virtues, people are like ghosts and not a living being). Manuaa to panchhi bhaya udke chalaa akaash. Uper hi te gir pada, yaa maya ke paas. Our mind is like bird, when it gets full swing into positive thoughts, it flies higher and higher in sky, but it is not certain that it will remain so high, it can go swinging to another extreme, which is negative one, can drop down to this worldly illusions, so powerful is this MAYA. Aache din pachhe gaye, hari se kiyo na het. Ab pachhataye hot kya jab chidiya chug gayi khet. O dear soul!! Your good days are passed away when you had energy and time to do love and devotion to GOD. You didn t do it at that time, what is the use of regretting now? (Famous saying what will you do when you didn t keep guarding your farm and birds have eaten all your grains). All your enemies-(five enemies lust, greed, anger, ego and attachment) have eaten all your potentials.

8 Bada hua to kya hua jaise ped khajoor. Panthi ko chhaya nahi, phal lage ati door. What if you are a great personality, what if you have got enormous wealth and what if you are world famous if you don t do any good for anyone? What are you worth of then?? You are like the date tree who is taller but neither travelers can get a shadow to rest for a while to protect them from heat neither they can get their hands on fruits. Kabir Hari sabakun bhaje, Hari ku bhaje na koi. Jab jag aas sareer kee, tab lagi daas na hoi. Kabir says GOD almighty loves everyone, in fact he can t help loving because he is made of love, but no one loves him actually. Till people are attached with bodily pleasures and keep hope for that, they don t serve the Lord. Jab tum aaye jagat me, jagat hansaa, tum roy. Aisee karanee kari chalo, tum haanso, jag roy. Kabir says -Oh dear soul! When you came in this world, you cried (a new born baby always cries- myth is that it feels very bad coming in this world from the heaven) but people around the baby laugh with joy to welcome new soul. Kabir says do such kind of work so you would leave this place laughing (because you did perform all work assigned to you and did some good to this world) and people weep for you (because you became so dear to them). Raat gawaai soy ke, diwas gawaya khay. Heera janam amol tha, kaodee badle jay. You spend whole night sleeping and whole day in eating (and taking pleasure in worthless things). O dear, your life was like diamond (human life is said to be availed by great luck and it is not sure you will get it again soon) and you are trading it in exchange of seashells!! Heera wahan na kholiye, janh KhoTee hai haat. Chup kari bandho gaatharee, uthi kar chalo baat. You shouldn t open your gems in the market where people don t differentiate between diamond and coal. They will not evaluate it, so better put your diamonds in bag and go ahead on your way. Kabir is referring here about true knowledge people are not able to understand reality and true knowledge. As they like polishing and sparkling, so even glass work attracts them and not diamond. The same way, they don t differentiate true Guru and so called Gurus who keep a big disciples lobby and big ashram. They get attracted to name fame and crowd. So a true Guru should better keep mum and go ahead in his journey, only true seekers are eligible to get this knowledge.

9 Raini gayi mat din bhi jaai, Bhawanr ude bag baithe aayi. Tharhar kampe bala jeev.na jane ka kariho peev. Kanche karave rahe na paanee. Hanas udaa kaaya kumhilaani. Kaag udaawat bhujaa piraane. Kahe Kabir yah katha siraanee. Kabir say- the night is gone, watch whether the day would not be spent in this way. The wasps are flied away, now cranes are sitting here. The young girl trembles in fear and distrust, she is so young she doesn t know how her husband will treat to her. Kabir says water can t be kept in unbaked pot. The swan flied away, now the body is faded. The bride calls the crows to ask about her husband, her whole life was gone doing this and her story is finished. This is again a beautiful example of high level poetry by Kabir. Here is a chain of allegories unfolding so many meanings and truth. When Kabir says night is gone, means half the time to do devotion is gone doing useless things. He warns that you should take care that another half- the day is not spent in that way. Here Wasp refers to black hairs or youth and crane refers to whiteness in hairs means old age. This line says that even you have spent half your life doing worthless things, you should make better use of another half one. The young bride refers to new devotee of the Lord who wants to meet her beloved but is not mature and brave enough to walk on the path. The soul has doubt how she will be able to progress, how the Lord will treat her? Shall she have to drop her identity (fear of death or end of separate identity)? Again Kabir says immature people can t keep the words of true knowledge, the devotion of Lord. The soul has to be strong enough to walk on the path. The famous ritual make a wish to crow to make the beloved come back home is done by village brides. Here Kabir is referring it to symbolize the soul s waiting to get her beloved at home/in heart. Kabir says the soul remains in the state of indecision whether she should walk on the path or not. This way life is finished and the love story of the soul doesn t have a happy ending. This is the common story of the people who want to walk on the path but don t make firm determination and thus they die unfulfilled. Poot piyaarau pita ko, gauhani laagyo dhaai. Lobh-miThaai haath de, aapan gayo bhulaai. Kabir says we all are his children. When a kid runs to his father and grabs his legs showing his love, the father, being in a hurry to leave for some work gives some sweets to the kid thus makes him forget about his father. Same way our divine father the GOD has given us so many things in this world to get involved and thus forget about our true home and true father. We shouldn t fall in this illusion and grab his feet for his love. Kabir maaya papinee, Phand le baithee haati. Sab jag to phande paryaa, gyaa Kabeera kaati.

10 Kabir says this MAYA (illusion) is a great sinner. It is always ready with net in the market (world) to get you trapped. This whole world has got trapped in this net, but Kabir was able to cut its threads and to fly away. Posted by Kabeer at 4:26 AM 1 comments The Best Ways to Live in this World The Saints say a true Guru is a must in path of GOD. Scriptures also tell us the ways to walk on the path. Obviously getting Naam or Mantra from Guru and devoting time on meditation / simaran-bhajan is most important part of it. But before trying to be something super human or divine, we need to be a human first. When we work and interact with outer world, we need to fix some good life principles and follow them firmly, so we live a high moral life and don t create any more bad karmas. Here are the details given by Kabir which we should follow- 1. Adopt Life Principles... Jhirmir-jhirmir barasiyaa, paahan upar meh. Nadiyan neeraa bhar gayee, paahan wohi teh. It has been raining heavily. Rivers are filled with water, but those high mountains are remained the same, no water harvesting for them. In these lines, what Kabir is trying to say is that his blessings are showering upon all, but only those get fulfilled by it who have empty hearts, vacant souls (from ego). Those with firm ego couldn't keep it with them because they have filled themselves with unnecessary thoughts and ego and they simply slip it. Be open in mind and heart and receive unlimited blessing from HIM, it is always showering upon you. Juaa, chori, mukhbiree, byaaj, ghoos, par-naar. Jo chaahe deedaar ko, etee vastu nivaar. Kabir says if you want to meet your Lord, please drop these things completely-betting, stealing, acting approver, earning interest, taking bribe and company of other women. Man beena kuchh aur hi, tan saadhun ke sang. Kahe kabir karee gaji, kaise laagyo rang. Those people who go to Satsang, but are not able to control their mind, their mind keeps chattering all the time. They don t get benefited from the company of Saints. This is like if you want to dye a black cloth, you will not be able to get a color put on it. If you want to get a particular color, you will have to get a white cloth. So is true for satsang. If you want to keep the love and devotion of your Lord in your heart, you will have to clean your mind and heart first so it is dyed in the true color of love. RoDa hoi rahu baat ka, taji paakhand abhimaan.

11 Aisa je jana hoi rahe, taahi mile bhagwaan. O dear, be as humble as the pebble on the path, where it is under everyone s feet. Leave all kind of cheating and ego behind. The person, who becomes humble like this, will be able to meet the Lord. RoDa bhaya to kya bhaya, panthi ko dukh deh. Harijan aisa chaiye, jyu dharani ki kheh. Again Kabir thinks that being like pebble is not enough, so he says even if you become like a pebble on the pathway, still there is a chance that a traveler s feet may be hurt by you. It is not good. So be like the soil of the earth, which has no sharp edges and is very much soft, it will not trouble anyone. Kheh bhayi to kya bhaya, udi-udi laage ang. Harijan aiasa chahiye, jyu paanee sabrang. Again Kabir says- even if you become like soil, it is not enough. It flies with air and makes people dirty. So Kabir says that just be like water it is without color, but it can be of any color if you mix a color in it. Panee bhaya to kya bhaya, taataa-seeraa hoy. Harijan aisa chahiye, Hari jaiasa hi hoy. Again Kabir thinks all possibilities and says that being like water is still not good enough. Water sometimes gets hot with the heat and becomes too cold in winter. So Kabir says there is no other way for a true devotee (harijan) to meet him, but to be just like HIM. Jaisee mukh te neekase, taisee chaale chaal. Parbrahm neda rahe, pal me kare nihaal. O dear, be absolute true in your words. Following the truth is the way which leads to HIM. If you act just like as you speak, and there is no difference in your saying and actions, GOD will be pleased with you and will give you his grace. Aisi vanee boliye, man kaa aapa khoy. Auran ko sheetal kare, aapahu sheetal hoy Always speak so sweet that our heart feels the bliss and coolness and never be rude to anyone. Speaking sweet words makes others cool and blissful and so it does to the speaker. Kutil bachan sabase buraa, Jase hot na chaar. Sadhu bachan jal roop hai, barase amrit dhaar. Rude words are worst kind of harm, they burn you to ashes (they hurt you to the core of

12 your being). Loving and caring words of Saints are like cool water; they enter in your heart and heal all pain like the rain of nectar which turns even dead to living one. (We should therefore never speak rude words to anyone- even we don t like their attitude). Jaha daya tah dharm hai, jaha lobh taha paap. Jahan krodh taha kaal hai, jaha Kshama waha aap. Where there is kindness, there is religion, and where there is greed, there is sin. Anger brings this Kaal or destruction, and forgiveness brings godliness in us. Jag me bairee koi nahee, jo man sheetal hoy. Ye aapa to daal de, dayaa kare sab koy. No one can be your enemy if your mind and heart is cool and calm. It is your ego that creates all problems, just drop it. When you don t think about you and think only the OTHER, true egoless ness happens. Following the forgiveness brings absolute calmness. Jaat na Poochho saadhu ki, poochh lijiye gyan. Mol karo talwaar ka, paree rahan do myan. Never ask a Saint about his or her caste, always ask about his or her knowledge. We evaluate a sword by the sharpness because it is the real thing and not by the beauty of sheath. This way the knowledge of a Saint is important and not his or her caste. Kabir Kshudha hai kookari, karat bhajan me bhang. Yako Tukra Darike, sumiran karo nishank. Kabir says that this hunger is like bitch, it will keep barking until you give it a piece of bread. So first feed yourself and satisfy this hunger, then sit to do bhajans. This body has its requirements and it needs its food. A cool and calm body is necessary to go into meditation. It is noticeable that everywhere in Gurudwara, there is a system of lunger(free food to sangat). Sahaj sahaj sab koi kahe, sahaj na cheenhe koi. Jini sahaje vishiyaa taji, sahaj kaheeje soi. There is one way sahaj Samadhi or natural meditation for spiritual journey. There are many explanations of Kabir s Sahaj Samadhi. Here Kabir tries to explain it People say opt for Sahaj. But no one understands its meaning. It is absolutely natural way. When we do different kind of devotion/meditation we try to raise our consciousness to higher realms. At the time of meditation we are able to control our mind conflicts, desires and thoughts. When our meditation breaks, we come down to normal life. But when we become so much calm and controlled that every moment is like moment of meditation and there is no difference in waking state and meditative state in context of our desires and conflicts, then Sahaj or natural Samadhi happens. When all worldly attachments and

13 pleasures are dropped naturally, this is the state of Kabir s Sahaj Samaadhi. Kabir says whoever has dropped all desires and attachment to worldly pleasures naturally, is in real Sahaj state. Tan ko jogi sab kare, man ko birla koy. Sahje sab bidhi paaiye, jo man jogi hoy. People try to control the body and its needs. Even they are successful doing it, their mind is uncontrolled and desires, pride and ego still occupy the mind. Kabir says true Yogi is who has made his mind Yogi and he will get everything by controlling his mind and get it in contact with GOD. 2. Meditation is a must... Hari mor rahanta main ratan piuriyaa. Hari ka nam le kaatal bahuriyaa. Chhau maas tag, baras din kukaree. Log kahe bhal kaatal bapuree. Kahahi Kabir sut bhal kaataa. RahanTa na hoy mukti kar daata. My Lord (Hari, Ram are few names by which Kabir calls his beloved) is RahanTa( weaver s tool) and I am the Chunari embroidered with gold and gems woven on it. His dear beloved bride weaves the threads by his Name. She weaved threads for six months and then made Kukaree (piece of wood on which linings of threads are coiled to keep it safe -I am not able to find exact word in English) for one year. People say this poor lady has woven very nicely. Kabir says O dear, you have woven really very nice, but this weaving thing will not give you liberation!! Here Kabir is trying to explain that Karmas will not give you liberation, even if you do it on the name of GOD and if you are doing good karmas. They will keep you busy here and you will not find a way out. Kabir yahu tan jaat hai, rakhi sako to bahor. Khali haathon wah gaye, jinke laakh karor. Kabir says this body is running out of life. Try and save it if you can. You can only meet your Lord while you are in this body, so try to meet and save yourself. Even those people leave this earth with blank hands that had lacs and crores of wealth. Baahar kya dikhalaaiye, antar japiye Raam. Kaha kaaj sansaar se, tujhe dhanee se kaam. What are you looking for outside?? Go inside and keep doing simaran of Ram (Lord). What do you have to do with this world? You have only one job to be with your beloved (dhanee-husband), only keep remembering him.

14 Jabahi naam hirde dharaa, bhayaa paap kaa naas. Mano chingaaree aag kee, paree puraanee ghaas. As soon as you put the Naam in your heart, all your sins are burnt. Just like a little burning coal put in the grass will soon burn all the grass to ashes. Jo darsan dekha chahiye, to darpan manjat rahiye. Jab darpn laage kaai, tab darsan kiya na jaai. If you want to envision the reality, keep wiping your mirror daily. If mirror gets dirty, how will you be able to see yourself? This mirror is mind which is covered by desires, constant thoughts, prejudices and pride and we are not able to see our true self. When we give time to meditation, actually we start dropping all bits of dirt from our mind and eventually from our soul, thus we become aware of our true self and the ultimate reality gets reflected here. Kabira so dhan sanchiye, jo age ko hoy. Shees uthaye gaanthree, le jaat na dkhya koy. Kabir says - oh dear, please collect the wealth which could go with you after death wealth of good deeds, love, compassion and Naam(devotion to GOD-sound within). What ever you have been earning and collecting and think that that these are mine, will not go with you. No one has been seen to take all those treasures on his head in his final journey. 3. Drop the Ego and identity completely.. Main-Main badee balaay hai, nikasi sakai to bhaaji. Kab lag raakhau he sakhee, rooi lapeti aagi. This ME is the real trouble. O my dear Sakhi, try to come out of it as soon as possible. How long will you save this ME, it is like cotton which is put around fire, and it will give you great trouble if you don t drop it. Nindak niyre raakhiye, aangana kuti chhawaay. Bin pane saabun binaa, nirmal kare subhay O Kabir, Always welcome and keep your critics near you. You should make a hut for them in your house so you will always get benefited by them. Critics are great cleansers; they make your nature neat and clean without any water and soap. Kabir is very definite about it, that we should always welcome any kind of criticism; even we should seek it from friends and enemies. Criticism makes us realize our faults and problems we need to pay attention and make them clean which otherwise we couldn t realize. This way critic is more well wisher of us than our fans. Bura jo dekhan main chala, bura na miliya koy.

15 Jo dil dhundha aapna, mujhsa bura na koy. When I went to search for crooked people, there was no one crooked outside. When I started searching inside me, I was the worst kind of crooked. This is the very basic rule for a seeker, we should never try to find a fault in the other, and we should always look within whether there is any fault in us. It is normal human tendency that we try to come out clean in any situation and blame others for any wrong deeds. We need to change this attitude. This doesn t mean we should condemn ourselves, but it simply means that if there is.01% chance that we are at fault, first we should search and clean it. We can t change the other, so better do what is within our reach. Kabira garv na kijiye, kabahu na hansiye koy. Ajai naav smundra me, kaa jane kyaa hoy. Kabir says - never be proud of what you have got and how much you have progressed in spirituality and never laugh at someone who is not so much well behaved, and advanced in spirituality. You might never know how and when you will reach your destination. Your ship is still in the mid sea, and you don t know what would happen to you, you will reach your goal or will go astray (pride itself is a great barrier in spirituality). Kul gela kul ubare, kul rakhya kul jaai. Ram nikul kul bhent le, sab kul rahya samaai. Here is another beautiful example of the great Saint s poetic expression. Kabir likes to play with words. Here he repeats word kul(caste) in so rhythm that it sounds very cool. Kabir says After dropping your kul(caste -identity) you will be able to make your family(kul) shine( will make your family proud of you). If you keep your caste and identity(kul), you will loose the whole(kul). Meet Ram(Lord) who is casteless(nikul) where all castes(sab kul) merge at the end. Jab lag naataa jagat ka, tab lag bhakti na hoy. Naata tode Hari bhaje, bhakt kahaawe soy. Till you have relations with this world, you are not a true devotee. When all your relations with this world are finished, then only you become a true devotee of the Lord. 4. Only Love Matters Jihi ghat prem na sanchare, So ghat jaan msaan. Jaise khaal lohaar ki, saans let binu praan. If there is no love grown in a person, he or she is like cemetery, living by breathe still dead in heart. Just like the furnace of blacksmith operates well by air given to it, but it is a dead thing, so is the person who is stranger to love. Jihi ghat preet na premras, puni rasana nahi raam.

16 Te nar is sansaar me, upaji bhaye bekaam. If there is no love, neither is the divine feeling of the same and the person even doesn t keep remembering his dear beloved Ram, his birth in this world is useless. He was born and will die without getting anything out of this life. Hari jananee main baalak teraa. Kaahe na augun bkasahu meraa. Sut aparaadh kare din kete. Janani ke chit rahe na tete. Kar gahi kes gahe jo maataa. Tau nah het utaare maataa. Kahe Kabir ek budhi bichaaree. Baalak dukhi, dukhi mahataari. Kabir says that my Lord is my mother, I am her little kid. O my dear mother, please forgive me for my faults and mistakes. A son does so many sins, but mother never minds that and never keeps it in heart. She is always forgiving. Even a little kid is so ignorant that he grabs mother s hairs thus troubles her and even then mother never stops loving him. Kabir knows only one thing by his knowledge- if the son is sad; his mother is ought to be sad, because her happiness lies in son s happiness. So is true for the GOD. He is happy in our happiness only. Kabir soi peer hai, jo jaane parpeer. Jo parpeer na jaanai, so kafir bepeer. Kabir says real Peer (Saint) is someone who understands others troubles and sorrows. If someone doesn t understand it, he or she is without emotions and not a Saint, but a person against godliness (Kafir). Prem bhav ek chahiye, bhesh anek batay. Chahe ghar me baas kare,chaahe ban ko jay. Your Lord seeks only love in you; this is the true bhav or prayer. It doesn t matter what is the method, what is the form of devotion. If there is love for the Lord, it doesn t make any difference even if you stay at home or go to jungles for prayer. Pothee padhi-padhi jag mua, pundit bhayaa na koy. Dhai aakhar prem ka, padhe so pandit hoy. This world died reading books and scriptures, but no one could become Knower (punditwho knows the mystery of the universe). This is love two and half letters of Perm (it counts two and half letter in devnagari script) which is only readable thing. Who so ever reads it; shall become the Knower (Pundit). All saints have been stating that what remains at last is love and GOD is nothing but ocean of love, try to read it, be it, let it flow through you and you will know all the mysteries of the universe and the GOD.

17 Kabira prem na chaakhya, chakhi na leeyaa sav. Sune ghar ka paahuna, jyo aawe tyo jaw. Kabir says, who didn t taste the love while was here on earth and in human form, is like the guest who comes to vacant home, from where he returns unattended. He doesn t find anyone to welcome, any food offered and any warm reception. Our whole purpose to come in this human form is to taste that divine drink love without which our visit is useless. 5. Act on the right time.. Aache din paachhe gaye, hari se kiyo na het. Ab pachhtaye hot kya jab chidiya chug gayi khet. Your good days are gone (when you were young and were able to do some good deeds/meditation) but you didn t feel affection for your Lord. Why are you regretting now (in old age)? When it was time to save your fields, you were sleeping. Now birds have eaten your fields, what is the use regretting your deeds? This is famous saying means when your valuable things are destroyed, what is the use to remember and regret it? We should act at the right time and save our spiritual treasure. Dukh me sumiran sab kare, sukh me kare na koy. Jo sukh me sumiran kare, to dukh kaahe ko hoy. People always pray in trouble and sorrow, they never remember GOD in their good days. If only we could pray him wholeheartedly in our good days, why we would get in any trouble?? Karta tha to kyu raha, ab kari kyu pachhtaay. Boye ped babool ka, amua kaha se paay. When you were doing all wrong deeds then you never thought about it. Why you are regretting it now? You saw seed of acacia (one tree with thorns only), how will you get mango fruits from it? What you saw, so shall you reap. Kaal kare so aaj kar, aaj kare so ab. Pal me parlay hoyga, bahuri karga kab. Just do today what you are planning to do tomorrow, and do right now whatever you are planning to do today. You might never know when this life ends, even dissolution might happen and then you will not get time to do anything. Te din gaye akaarathee, sangat bhayee na sant. Prem bina pashu jeevanaa, bhakti bina bhagwant.

18 Those days are gone worthless which are not spent in the company of Saints. Those who didn t know love and devotion of Lord are like animals in human form, getting only their natural needs fulfilled. Mooye peechhe mat milo, kahe kabira Raam. Loha maatee mi gaya, phir paaras kehi kaam. Kabir says don t hope and opt to meet your Lord after the death. What a philosopher s stone can do to an iron when it is destroyed and got lost in soil?? You can try and meet your Lord only while living, he will make you just like HIM. If you are not able to meet him here, how will you meet him after death?? Raat gawaya soy ke, diwas gawayo khaay. Heeraa janam amol tha, kaudi badle jay. You spent all nights sleeping and days eating. Your life was so precious, it was like diamond and you exchanged it with seashells!! This human form is supposed to use to progress spiritually but we don t pay attention to it and live the whole life doing stupid things!! Durlabh maanush janam hai, deh na barambaar. Taruwar jyo patta jhare, bahuri na laage daar. We get this human body by great luck and chance; it is difficult to get it again and again, like when a leaf breaks off from the branch, it would never be attached to the branch again. Make the best use of it, so you could meet the Lord in this lifetime. 6. Be a Giver- That is the virtue of GOD and Godliness. Bada hua to kya hua jaise ped khajoor Panthi ko chhaya nahi, phal lage ati door. What is the goodness in being so great if we can t help others? A palm-tree grows so high but it is so far from our reach, we can t get its fruits neither a traveler can find a shadow to rest for a while. Deh dhare ka gun yahi, deh deh kachhu deh. Bahuri na dehi paaiye, abaki deh to deh. The virtue of getting this human body is that you should give others as much and as often as you can. You will not get this human body again and again, only those things will remain with you what ever you provide and serve to others. Santan hee sat baantai, Rotee me te Took. Kahe Kabir ta daas ko, kabahu na aawe chook.

19 Share goodness and truth among saints and devotees, and always eat the bread after sharing it to the needy. Kabir says who so ever keeps this habit in life, will never go astray from the path of dear Lord. 7. Develop conscience Saadhu aisa chahiye, jaisa soop subhay. Saar-saar ko gahi rahae, thotha dei udaay. Sadhu /Saints should be like the SOOP (a thing made by bamboo wood, which is used to get grains cleaned from its husk). They should know to extract correct facts from the mixups so they never get misled. In fact Saints say that this world is all mix-ups mixing of good and bad, GOD and maya, reality and illusion- and we should learn to get this mixup undone. Like a swan gets milks and leaves the water, like an ant will take the sugar from the mix of sugar and sand, so we should take the good and positive things and leave the rest, we should know to differentiate facts from fictions, rights from wrong details. Only then we will be able to find right way and won t get misled. 8. God s clock is neither early nor late Dheere-dheere re mana, dheere sab kuchh hoy. Malee seenche sau GhaDa, ritu aaye phal hoy. O dear, slowly everything will happen. Don t make hurry. Everything has a time and season, and so is true for meditation and liberation!! Keep trying but be patient, Lord knows when your time comes. Just like even a gardener waters hundred buckets to trees, they will get fructified only when the season comes. So is true for the Lord. Keep faith in him and keep doing your devotion. 9. Our own self is the real temple Mala pherat jug gaya, mita na man ka pher. Kar ka manaka Dhadi ke, man ka manaka pher. You spent so much time doing Jaap and prayers with the help of rosary; still your mind is in constant conflict. O dear, you spent so many lives visiting and leaving this earth, still you are bound to this world. Just drop this rosary in your hand, and start doing simaran in heart. This way you will be able to go beyond this illusion. Here is beautiful word repetition with different meanings which gives it a live rhyme (Manaka beads and manaka of mind). Man mathura dil dwaraka, kaayaa kashee jaani. Dashwa dwara dehura, tame joti pichhani. O dear, think your mind like Mathura(birth place of Lord Krishna), your heart as Dwarka (Kingdom of Lord Krishna) and your body like Kashi(holy place famous for Lord Shiva).

20 The tenth door is the place of the Lord (ajna chakra, place between both eyebrows), try to find the light there, it is the place of the Lord within you. 10. MAYA is just illusion. Maaya chaaya ek si, birla jaane koy. Bhayat ke peeche pade, sanmukh bhaage soy. This MAYA (illusion) and shadow are of same nature; rare are those who are able to understand this mystery. It chases to those who keep running from it, and runs away from those who stop, stare at it and face it. Shadow is a good example. When we turn our back, it seems behind us and if we fear it and want to escape from it, it will seem chasing us where ever we go. But when we turn our face towards it, it will seem running away from us. The same way, this MAYA or worldly illusion seems chasing us, in fact we are afraid facing it all kind of troubles, cheatings, misbehaves, pride, ego, anger- to name a few - so we just try to escape from it, to suppress it, but more we try to suppress it, more it troubles us. When we get courage to face it, bring it on surface and fight to it, it is vanished. It depends how we deal with it. Gyan ratan ka jatan kar, maatee ka sansaar. Aaye kabira phiri gayaa, pheekaa hai sansaar. O dear, try to get the gem of true knowledge, this world is nothing but made of soil (ready to get destroyed at any time). Kabir visited this place and returned back; realizing this world is worthless. Maaya to Thaganee banee, Thagat phire sab desh. Jo Thag ya thaganee Thago, ta Thag ko aadesh. Kabir says this MAYA is like cheater, it cheats all in the world. Who so ever is able to cheat this Thaganee(female cheater), will get the order of the Lord. I assume that the order here means the order to teach people, to show them the way ahead by this order of Lord. Only those great Saints who are able to defeat this illusion and have been able to meet Lord, are capable to lead other seekers, and so by the will of the Lord. Kaajal keree kotharee, taisaa yahu sansaar. Balihaaree taa das ki, paisike nikasanhaar. This world is like the room of black soot. That devotee is truly welcomed who comes in this place and goes back without getting a single spot on his cloth. 11. God is only thing prevailing everywhere Daya kaun par keejiye, kaapar nirday hoy. Saai ke sab jeev hain, keeree kunjar doy.

21 Whom you will be kind to and to whom you would be rude?? All are the souls of GOD, be it insect or elephant. Nothing exists beyond GOD, so be generous, loving and kind to all. Mera mujhme kuchh nahi, jo kuchh hai so tera. Tera tujhko saumpata, kya laage hai meraa. There is nothing in me which is mine, it is all yours. When I surrender and offer everything which belongs to you, it doesn t take anything from me; it is only that I am offering your things to you (like in Sanskrit it says Tvadeeyam Vastu Govindam, Tubhyamev Samarpayet). 12. Being pure to purer. Sona sajjan saadhu jan, tooti jure sau baar. Durjan kumbh kumhar ke, eke Dhaka daraar. Saints and good people are like gold, they are mended up again and again, doesn t matter how many times they are broken. Evil ones are like pot of the potter, even a slight push breaks them and they won t get mended. Kabir is describing the tolerance capacity and character of people, and how we should understand their level. 13. Cut all the threads of Karma. Ek karm hai bowanaa, upaje beej bahoot. Ek karm hai bhoonanaa, udai na ankur soot. There are two kinds of karmas. One is like to sow the grain (it will bring more trees and fruits-both sweet and bitter) and another is to boil the grain (we burn the grain s all potentials to grow, to become a tree and bear fruit).first kind of karma is done by us in ignorance and mostly in hope that we will get more good fruits. All good and bad karmas (seeds) will get fructified with time. But the devotee, who wants to get out of this MAYA and KAAL, will have to burn all karmas, so it doesn t bear any tree and fruits. ***The same example is given by Ramkrishna through raw paddy and boiled paddy. Seeds of raw paddy will grow with time, but boiled paddy can t. So is the devotee who has burned all karmas with devotion, thus has become free form all. 14. Greatest barrier on the spiritual path. Kabir Mayaa tajee to kya bhaya, maan tajaa nahi jay. Maan bade muniyar gile, Maan saban ko khaay. What if you are able to defeat the MAYA and drop all its desires? It is very difficult to get rid of the desire to get respect and fame. This desire has gulped so many Monks and Saints, this eats everyone (after practicing and mastering all other things, this desire comes as last greed, and is hard to overcome, only a person mad in love can overcome it,

22 in fact it will not exist for him at all). 15. Keep the company of devotees and saints.. Kabir taasu milaai, jisake hiraday tu base. Nahi te beg uthaai, nit ka ganjan ko sahe. Kabir is sad among these worldly people. He asks his Lord to let him meet to true devotees, who carry the Lord in their heart. Kabir will find the peace only in their company. Kabir even requests his Lord to call him back soon if it is not possible; it is a torture living with these loveless people. *** (We see the same thing in Ramkrishna, he was here to be with seekers and to show them the path. After realization, he used to call them loudly on the top of the temple. It is said that within few years all of them gathered with him). Moorakh sang na keejiye, lohaa jal na tiraay. Kadalee seep bhujang mukh, ek boond tihu bhaai. Company makes a big difference. Kabir says- don t be friends with ignorant fools. Doesn t matter how hard you work, you wont be able to make iron floating on the water. And there is a chance that you would get some wrong impression from them. When it rains, water drops fall randomly, one goes to banana tree and becomes Karpoor(inflammable thing used in Aarti), another falls in oyster and becomes pearl and the one which falls in the mouth of snake becomes nothing else but poison. In beginning all drops were equal, but different places and company made a huge difference for them. (Famous saying is that a wise enemy is better than an ignorant friend). Jo ghar saadhu na poojiye, hari ki sewa naahi. Te ghar marghat saa dikhe, bhoot base tin maahi. If there is no service and praise of Saints and GOD, that home is like mortuary and people living there are like ghosts. 16. Do work to get your earning Maangan gaye so mari rahe, mare jo maangan jaahi. Unte pahile ve mue, jin mukh nikasat naahi. Kabir never supports who have left this world s works and responsibility in the search of GOD, and get their needs fulfilled by other families. He says asking for something makes you lacked from respect and dignity. Those who beg or ask something are like dead people while breathing (life is sure a shame without respect and dignity). They are like dead when they decide to ask, and when they actually ask for something, they are really dead in their dignity, but those who deny providing the help are more dead, because having something they can provide, and denying it is even worse then asking for