s: disciples; continuing in exile that life of apostle and poet of


s: health, and with hands so feeble that he could no longer make the


s: A beautiful legend tells us that after his death his


s: Mohammedan and Hindu disciples disputed the possession of his


s: body; which the Mohammedans wished to bury, the Hindus to burn.


s: As they argued together, Kabîr appeared before them, and told


s: them to lift the shroud and look at that which lay beneath.  They


s: half of which were buried by the Mohammedans at Maghar, and half


s: carried by the Hindus to the holy city of Benares to be burned--


s: fitting conclusion to a life which had made fragrant the most


s: beautiful doctrines of two great creeds.


s: The poetry of mysticism might be defined on the one hand as a


s: temperamental reaction to the vision of Reality: on the other, as


s: mystical consciousness to mediate between two orders, going out


s: in loving adoration towards God and coming home to tell the


s: secrets of Eternity to other men; so the artistic self-expression


s: poetry, but love-poetry which is often written with a missionary


s: Kabîr's songs are of this kind: out-births at once of rapture and


s: tongue, they were deliberately addressed--like the vernacular


s: common life, the universal experience.  It is by the simplest


s: disciple, the pilgrim, the farmer, the migrant bird-- that he


s: drives home his intense conviction of the reality of the soul's


s: intercourse with the Transcendent.  There are in his universe no


s: This willing acceptance of the here-and-now as a means of


s: representing supernal realities is a trait common to the greatest


s: theopathetic state, all aspects of the universe possess equal


s: authority as sacramental declarations of the Presence of God; and


s: startling and even revolting to the unaccustomed taste--is in


s: direct proportion to the exaltation of their spiritual life.  The


s: da Todì, Ruysbroeck, Boehme, abound in illustrations of this law.


s: desperate attempts to communicate his ecstasy and persuade other


s: men to share it--a constant juxtaposition of concrete and


s: metaphysical language; swift alternations between the most


s: intensely anthropomorphic, the most subtly philosophical, ways of


s: alternation, and its entire naturalness for the mind which


s: employs it, is rooted in his concept, or vision, of the Nature of


s: go far in our understanding of his poems.


s: Kabîr belongs to that small group of supreme mystics--amongst


s: whom St.  Augustine, Ruysbroeck, and the Sûfî poet Jalâlu'ddîn


s: Rûmî are perhaps the chief--who have achieved that which we might


s: perpetual opposition between the personal and impersonal, the


s: transcendent and immanent, static and dynamic aspects of the


s: Divine Nature; between the Absolute of philosophy and the "sure


s: true Friend" of devotional religion.  They have done this, not by


s: other; but by ascending to a height of spiritual intuition at


s: which they are, as Ruysbroeck said, "melted and merged in the


s: Unity," and perceived as the completing opposites of a perfect


s: Whole.  This proceeding entails for them--and both Kabîr and


s: Ruysbroeck expressly acknowledge it--a universe of three orders:


s: Becoming, Being, and that which is "More than Being," i.e., God.


s: final abstraction, but the one actuality.  He inspires, supports,


s: of Becoming and the unconditioned, non-successional, infinite


s: world of Being; yet utterly transcends them both.  He is the


s: omnipresent Reality, the "All-pervading" within Whom "the worlds


s: are being told like beads."  In His personal aspect He is the


s: "beloved Fakir," teaching and companioning each soul.  Considered


s: these are at best partial aspects of His nature, mutually


s: corrective: as the Persons in the Christian doctrine of the


s: Trinity--to which this theological diagram bears a striking


s: resemblance--represent different and compensating experiences of


s: the Divine Unity within which they are resumed.  As Ruysbroeck


s: discerned a plane of reality upon which "we can speak no more of


s: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but only of One Being, the very


s: substance of the Divine Persons"; so Kabîr says that "beyond both


s: Brahma, then, is the Ineffable Fact compared with which "the


s: distinction of the Conditioned from the Unconditioned is but a


s: word": at once the utterly transcendent One of Absolutist


s: philosophy, and the personal Lover of the individual soul--


s: "common to all and special to each," as one Christian mystic has


s: it.  The need felt by Kabîr for both these ways of describing


s: Reality is a proof of the richness and balance of his spiritual


s: experience; which neither cosmic nor anthropomorphic symbols,


s: taken alone, could express.  More absolute than the Absolute,


s: more personal than the human mind, Brahma therefore exceeds


s: whilst He includes all the concepts of philosophy, all the


s: passionate intuitions of the heart.  He is the Great Affirmation,


s: satisfaction of desire.  His creative word is the <i>Om</i> or


s: "Everlasting Yea."  The negative philosophy which strips from the


s: which He is not--reduces Him to an "Emptiness," is abhorrent to


s: this most vital of poets.--Brahma, he says, "may never be found


s: in abstractions."  He is the One Love who Pervades the world.,


s: discerned in His fullness only by the eyes of love; and those who


s: ineffable secret of the universe.  [Footnote: Nos. VII, XXVI,


s: Now Kabîr, achieving this synthesis between the personal and


s: cosmic aspects of the Divine Nature, eludes the three great


s: dangers which threaten mystical religion.


s: First, he escapes the excessive emotionalism, the tendency to


s: an exclusively anthropomorphic devotion, which results from an


s: unrestricted cult of Divine Personality, especially under an


s: incarnational form; seen in India in the exaggerations of


s: Krishna worship, in Europe in the sentimental extravagances of


s: Next, he is protected from the soul-destroying conclusions of


s: pure monism, inevitable if its logical implications are pressed


s: home: that is, the identity of substance between God and the


s: soul, with its corollary of the total absorption of that soul in


s: the Being of God as the goal of the spiritual life.  For the


s: thorough-going monist the soul, in so far as it is real, is


s: substantially identical with God; and the true object of


s: existence is the making patent of this latent identity, the


s: realization which finds expression in the Vedântist formula "That


s: leaves no place for personality.  This eternal distinction, the


s: mysterious union-in-separateness of God and the soul, is a


s: necessary doctrine of all sane mysticism; for no scheme which


s: reformation preached by Râmânuja; the principle of which had


s: Last, the warmly human and direct apprehension of God as the


s: supreme Object of love, the soul's comrade, teacher, and


s: bridegroom, which is so passionately and frequently expressed in


s: Kabîr's poems, balances and controls those abstract tendencies


s: which are inherent in the metaphysical side of his vision of


s: Reality: and prevents it from degenerating into that sterile


s: worship of intellectual formulæ which became the curse of the


s: Vedântist school.  For the mere intellectualist, as for the mere


s: pietist, he has little approbation.  [Footnote: Cf. especially


s: Nos. LIX, LXVII, LXXV, XC, XCI.]  Love is throughout his


s: "absolute sole Lord": the unique source of the more abundant life


s: and infinite worlds.  All is soaked in love: that love which he


s: described in almost Johannine language as the "Form of God."


s: The whole of creation is the Play of the Eternal Lover; the


s: living, changing, growing expression of Brahma's love and joy.


s: As these twin passions preside over the generation of human life,


s: governing the creative acts of God.  His manifestation is love;


s: His activity is joy.  Creation springs from one glad act of


s: affirmation: the Everlasting Yea, perpetually uttered within the


s: depths of the Divine Nature.  [Footnote: Nos. XVII, XXVI, LXXVI,


s: LXXXII.]  In accordance with this concept of the universe as a


s: Love-Game which eternally goes forward, a progressive


s: manifestation of Brahma--one of the many notions which he adopted


s: by his poetic genius--movement, rhythm, perpetual change, forms


s: an integral part of Kabîr's vision of Reality.  Though the


s: Eternal and Absolute is ever present to his consciousness, yet


s: his concept of the Divine Nature is essentially dynamic.  It is


s: by the symbols of motion that he most often tries to convey it to


s: modern picture of that Eternal Swing of the Universe which is


s: "held by the cords of love."  [Footnote: No. XVI.]


s: It is a marked characteristic of mystical literature that the


s: great contemplatives, in their effort to convey to us the nature


s: of their communion with the supersensuous, are inevitably driven


s: to employ some form of sensuous imagery: coarse and inaccurate as


s: senses, that the fruits of intuition itself are instinctively


s: referred to them.  In that intuition it seems to the mystics that


s: perfect fulfilment.  Hence their constant declaration that they


s: melody, they <i>taste</i> the sweetness of the Lord, they know an


s: verily seeing and fully feeling, Him spiritually hearing and Him


s: delectably smelling and sweetly swallowing," as Julian of Norwich


s: automatisms, these parallels between sense and spirit may present


s: dramatizations of the symbolism under which the mystic tends


s: instinctively to represent his spiritual intuition to the surface


s: feels to be most expressive of Reality, his peculiar


s: Now Kabîr, as we might expect in one whose reactions to the


s: spiritual order were so wide and various, uses by turn all the


s: symbols of sense.  He tells us that he has "seen without sight"


s: the effulgence of Brahma, tasted the divine nectar, felt the


s: ecstatic contact of Reality, smelt the fragrance of the heavenly


s: flowers.  But he was essentially a poet and musician: rhythm and


s: harmony were to him the garments of beauty and truth.  Hence in


s: his lyrics he shows himself to be, like Richard Rolle, above all


s: things a musical mystic.  Creation, he says again and again, is


s: full of music: it <i>is</i> music.  At the heart of the Universe


s: "white music is blossoming": love weaves the melody, whilst


s: renunciation beats the time.  It can be heard in the home as well


s: every man is a lyre on which Brahma, "the source of all music,"


s: plays.  Everywhere Kabîr discerns the "Unstruck Music of the


s: Infinite"--that celestial melody which the angel played to St.


s: Francis, that ghostly symphony which filled the soul of Rolle


s: with ecstatic joy.  [Footnote: Nos. XVII, XVIII, XXXIX, XLI, LIV,


s: from the Hindu Pantheon and constantly uses, is that of Krishna


s: the Divine Flute Player.  [Footnote: Nos. L, LIII, LXVIII.]  He


s: sees the supernal music, too, in its visual embodiment, as


s: rhythmical movement: that mysterious dance of the universe before


s: expression of the infinite rapture of the Immanent God.'


s: Yet in this wide and rapturous vision of the universe Kabîr


s: never loses touch with diurnal existence, never forgets the


s: common life.  His feet are firmly planted upon earth; his lofty


s: and passionate apprehensions are perpetually controlled by the


s: activity of a sane and vigorous intellect, by the alert


s: commonsense so often found in persons of real mystical genius.


s: The constant insistence on simplicity and directness, the hatred


s: of all abstractions and philosophizings,[Footnote: Nos. XXVI,


s: XXXII, LXXVI] the ruthless criticism of external religion: these


s: are amongst his most marked characteristics.  God is the Root


s: whence all manifestations, "material" and "spiritual," alike


s: proceed; [Footnote: Nos. LXXV, LXXVIII, LXXX, XC.] and God is


s: the only need of man--"happiness shall be yours when you come to


s: the Root."  [Footnote: No. LXXX.]  Hence to those who keep their


s: different angles from which the soul may approach that simple


s: union with Brahma which is its goal; and are useful only in so


s: faras they contribute to this consummation.  So thorough-going is


s: twines together--as he might have woven together contrasting


s: threads upon his loom--symbols and ideas drawn from the most


s: violent and conflicting philosophies and faiths.  All are needed,


s: Upanishad called "the Sun-coloured Being who is beyond this


s: Darkness": as all the colours of the spectrum are needed if we


s: would demonstrate the simple richness of white light.  In thus


s: adapting traditional materials to his own use he follows a method


s: for originality of form.  They will pour their wine into almost


s: any vessel that comes to hand: generally using by preference--and


s: some of Kabîr's finest poems have as their subjects the


s: In the collection of songs here translated there will be found


s: examples which illustrate nearly every aspect of Kabîr's thought,


s: the despair, the still beatitude, the eager self-devotion, the


s: flashes of wide illumination, the moments of intimate love.  His


s: wide and deep vision of the universe, the "Eternal Sport" of


s: creation (LXXXII), the worlds being "told like beads" within the


s: Being of God (XIV, XVI, XVII, LXXVI), is here seen balanced by


s: his lovely and delicate sense of intimate communion with the


s: poem XXXIV).  As these apparently paradoxical views of Reality


s: are resolved in Brâhma, so all other opposites are reconciled in


s: insult to the Divine Lover (XLII, LXIX) and the devices of


s: professional sanctity are useless apart from charity and purity


s: of soul (LIV, LXV, LXVI).  Since all things, and especially the


s: heart of man, are God-inhabited, God-possessed (XXVI, LVI, LXXVI,


s: "In the home is reality."  There love and detachment, bondage and


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


s: "This version of Kabîr's songs is chiefly the work of


s: Mr. Rabîndranâth Tagore, the trend of whose mystical genius makes


s: sympathetic interpreter of Kabîr's vision and thought.  It has


s: been based upon the printed Hindî text with Bengali translation


s: of Mr. Kshiti Mohan Sen; who has gathered from many sources--


s: sometimes from books and manuscripts, sometimes from the lips of


s: wandering ascetics and minstrels--a large collection of poems


s: and hymns to which Kabîr's name is attached, and carefully


s: sifted the authentic songs from the many spurious works now


s: attributed to him.  These painstaking labours alone have made


s: We have also had before us a manuscript English translation of


s: Mohan Sen's text, and a prose essay upon Kabîr from the same


s: hand.  From these we have derived great assistance.  A


s: considerable number of readings from the translation have been


s: adopted by us; whilst several of the facts mentioned in the essay


s: generous and unselfish manner in which he has placed his work at


s: The reference of the headlines of the poems is to:


s: Sântiniketana; Kabîr by Srî Kshitimohan Sen, 4 parts,


s: For some assistance in normalizing the transliteration we are


s: I am neither in temple nor in mosque: I am neither in Kaaba nor


s: Neither am I in rites and ceremonies, nor in Yoga and


s: If thou art a true seeker, thou shalt at once see Me: thou shalt


s: Kabîr says, "O Sadhu!  God is the breath of all breath."


s: It is needless to ask of a saint the caste to which he belongs;


s: For the priest, the warrior.  the tradesman, and all the


s: thirty-six castes, alike are seeking for God.


s: It is but folly to ask what the caste of a saint may be;


s: The barber has sought God, the washerwoman, and the carpenter--


s: The Rishi Swapacha was a tanner by caste.


s: Hindus and Moslems alike have achieved that End, where remains no


s: O friend!  hope for Him whilst you live, know whilst you live,


s: understand whilst you live: for in life deliverance abides.


s: If your bonds be not broken whilst living, what hope of


s: It is but an empty dream, that the soul shall have union with Him


s: If not, we do but go to dwell in the City of Death.


s: If you have union now, you shall have it hereafter.


s: Bathe in the truth, know the true Guru, have faith in the true


s: Kabîr says: "It is the Spirit of the quest which helps; I am the


s: Take your seat on the thousand petals of the lotus, and there


s: Tell me, Brother, how can I renounce Maya?


s: When I gave up the tying of ribbons, still I tied my garment


s: When I gave up tying my garment, still I covered my body in its


s: So, when I give up passion, I see that anger remains;


s: And when I renounce anger, greed is with me still;


s: And when greed is vanquished, pride and vainglory remain;


s: When the mind is detached and casts Maya away, still it clings to


s: Kabîr says, "Listen to me, dear Sadhu!  the true path is rarely


s: The moon shines in my body, but my blind eyes cannot see it:


s: The moon is within me, and so is the sun.


s: The unstruck drum of Eternity is sounded within me; but my deaf


s: So long as man clamours for the I and the Mine,


s: When all love of the I and the Mine is dead, then


s: For work has no other aim than the getting of knowledge:


s: The flower blooms for the fruit: when the fruit comes, the flower


s: The musk is in the deer, but it seeks it not within itself: it


s: When He Himself reveals Himself, Brahma brings into manifestation


s: As the seed is in the plant, as the shade is in the tree, as the


s: void is in the sky, as infinite forms are in the void--


s: So from beyond the Infinite, the Infinite comes; and from the


s: The creature is in Brahma, and Brahma is in the creature: they


s: He Himself is the tree, the seed, and the germ.


s: He Himself is the flower, the fruit, and the shade.


s: He Himself is the sun, the light, and the lighted.


s: He Himself is Brahma, creature, and Maya.


s: He Himself is the manifold form, the infinite space;


s: He is the breath, the word, and the meaning.


s: He Himself is the limit and the limitless: and beyond both the


s: limited and the limitless is He, the Pure Being.


s: He is the Immanent Mind in Brahma and in the creature.


s: The Supreme Soul is seen within the soul,


s: The Point is seen within the Supreme Soul,


s: And within the Point, the reflection is seen again.


s: Kabîr is blest because he has this supreme vision!


s: Within this earthen vessel are bowers and groves, and within it


s: Within this vessel are the seven oceans and the unnumbered stars.


s: And within this vessel the Eternal soundeth, and the spring wells


s: O How may I ever express that secret word?


s: O how can I say He is not like this, and He is like that?


s: If I say that He is within me, the universe is ashamed:


s: If I say that He is without me, it is falsehood.


s: He makes the inner and the outer worlds to be indivisibly one;


s: The conscious and the unconscious, both are His footstools.


s: He is neither manifest nor hidden, He is neither revealed nor


s: There are no words to tell that which He is.


s: To Thee Thou hast drawn my love, O Fakir!


s: I was sleeping in my own chamber, and Thou didst awaken me;


s: I was drowning in the deeps of the ocean of this world, and


s: Thou didst save me: upholding me with Thine arm, O Fakir!


s: Only one word and no second--and Thou hast made me tear off all


s: Kabîr says, "Thou hast united Thy heart to my heart, O Fakir!"


s: I played day and night with my comrades, and now I am greatly


s: So high is my Lord's palace, my heart trembles to mount its


s: stairs: yet I must not be shy, if I would enjoy His love.


s: My heart must cleave to my Lover; I must withdraw my veil, and


s: Mine eyes must perform the ceremony of the lamps of love.


s: Kabîr says: "Listen to me, friend: he understands who loves.  If


s: you feel not love's longing for your Beloved One, it is vain


s: to adorn your body, vain to put unguent on your eyelids."


s: From what land do you come, O Swan? to what shore will you fly?


s: Where would you take your rest, O Swan, and what do you seek?


s: Even this morning, O Swan, awake, arise, follow me!


s: There is a land where no doubt nor sorrow have rule: where the


s: There the woods of spring are a-bloom, and the fragrant scent "He


s: There the bee of the heart is deeply immersed, and desires no


s: Every votary offers his worship to the God of his own creation:


s: None seek Him, the Perfect: Brahma, the Indivisible Lord.


s: They believe in ten Avatars; but no Avatar can be the Infinite


s: Spirit, for he suffers the results of his deeds:


s: The Supreme One must be other than this.


s: The Yogi, the Sanyasi, the Ascetics, are disputing one with


s: Kabîr says, "O brother!  he who has seen that radiance of love,


s: surf: where is the difference between the river and its waves?


s: When the wave rises, it is the water; and when it falls, it is


s: the same water again.  Tell me, Sir, where is the distinction?


s: Because it has been named as wave, shall it no longer be


s: Within the Supreme Brahma, the worlds are being told like beads:


s: Look upon that rosary with the eyes of wisdom.


s: Where Spring, the lord of the seasons, reigneth, there the


s: There the streams of light flow in all directions;


s: Few are the men who can cross to that shore!


s: There, where millions of Krishnas stand with hands folded,


s: Where millions of Vishnus bow their heads,


s: Where millions of Brahmâs are reading the Vedas,


s: Where millions of Shivas are lost in contemplation,


s: Where millions of Indras dwell in the sky,


s: Where the demi-gods and the munis are unnumbered,


s: Between the poles of the conscious and the unconscious, there has


s: Thereon hang all beings and all worlds, and that swing never


s: Millions of beings are there: the sun and the moon in their


s: Millions of ages pass, and the swing goes on.


s: All swing! the sky and the earth and the air and the water; and


s: And the sight of this has made Kabîr a servant.


s: The light of the sun, the moon, and the stars shines bright:


s: The melody of love swells forth, and the rhythm of love's


s: Day and night, the chorus of music fills the heavens; and Kabîr


s: "My Beloved One gleams like the lightning flash in the sky."


s: Do you know how the moments perform their adoration?


s: Waving its row of lamps, the universe sings in worship day and


s: There are the hidden banner and the secret canopy:


s: There the sound of the unseen bells is heard.


s: Kabîr says: "There adoration never ceases; there the Lord of the


s: The whole world does its works and commits its errors: but few


s: The devout seeker is he who mingles in his heart the double


s: currents of love and detachment, like the mingling of the


s: In his heart the sacred water flows day and night; and thus the


s: round of births and deaths is brought to an end.


s: Behold what wonderful rest is in the Supreme Spirit!  and he


s: enjoys it, who makes himself meet for it.


s: Held by the cords of love, the swing of the Ocean of Joy sways to


s: See what a lotus blooms there without water!  and Kabîr says


s: What a wonderful lotus it is, that blooms at the heart of the


s: spinning wheel of the universe!  Only a few pure souls know of


s: Music is all around it, and there the heart partakes of the joy


s: Kabîr says: "Dive thou into that Ocean of sweetness: thus let all


s: Behold how the thirst of the five senses is quenched there!  and


s: Kabîr says: "It is the sport of the Unattainable One: look


s: within, and behold how the moon-beams of that Hidden One shine


s: There falls the rhythmic beat of life and death:


s: Rapture wells forth, and all space is radiant with light.


s: There the Unstruck Music is sounded; it is the music of the love


s: There millions of lamps of sun and of moon are burning;


s: There the drum beats, and the lover swings in play.


s: There love-songs resound, and light rains in showers; and the


s: worshipper is entranced in the taste of the heavenly nectar.


s: Look upon life and death; there is no separation between them,


s: The right hand and the left hand are one and the same.


s: Kabîr says: "There the wise man is speechless; for this truth may


s: I have had my Seat on the Self-poised One,


s: I have drunk of the Cup of the Ineffable,


s: Travelling by no track, I have come to the Sorrowless Land: very


s: easily has the mercy of the great Lord come upon me.


s: They have sung of Him as infinite and unattainable: but I in my


s: meditations have seen Him without sight.


s: That is indeed the sorrowless land, and none know the path that


s: Only he who is on that path has surely transcended all sorrow.


s: Wonderful is that land of rest, to which no merit can win;


s: It is the wise who has seen it, it is the wise who has sung of


s: This is the Ultimate Word: but can any express its marvellous


s: He who has savoured it once, he knows what joy it can give.


s: Kabîr says: "Knowing it, the ignorant man becomes wise, and the


s: His wisdom and his detachment are made perfect;


s: He drinks from the cup of the inbreathings and the outbreathings


s: There the whole sky is filled with sound, and there that music is


s: There the game of pleasure and pain does not cease.


s: Kabîr says: "If you merge your life in the Ocean of Life, you


s: will find your life in the Supreme Land of Bliss."


s: What a frenzy of ecstasy there is in every hour! and the


s: worshipper is pressing out and drinking the essence of the


s: I speak truth, for I have accepted truth in life; I am now


s: attached to truth, I have swept all tinsel away.


s: Kabîr says: "Thus is the worshipper set free from fear; thus have


s: There the harp-strings jingle, and there the drums beat.


s: What a secret splendour is there, in the mansion of the sky!


s: There no mention is made of the rising and the setting of the


s: In the ocean of manifestation, which is the light of love, day


s: There have I seen joy filled to the brim, perfection of joy;


s: Kabîr says: "There have I witnessed the sport of One Bliss!"


s: I have known in my body the sport of the universe: I have escaped


s: The inward and the outward are become as one sky, the Infinite


s: and the finite are united: I am drunken with the sight of this


s: This Light of Thine fulfils the universe: the lamp of love that


s: Kabîr says: "There error cannot enter, and the conflict of life


s: The middle region of the sky, wherein the spirit dwelleth, is


s: There, where the pure and white music blossoms, my Lord takes His


s: In the wondrous effulgence of each hair of His body, the


s: brightness of millions of suns and of moons is lost.


s: On that shore there is a city, where the rain of nectar pours and


s: Kabîr says: "Come, O Dharmadas!  and see my great Lord's Durbar."


s: O my heart!  the Supreme Spirit, the great Master, is near you:


s: You have slept for unnumbered ages; this morning will you not


s: To what shore would you cross, O my heart?  there is no traveller


s: Where is the movement, where is the rest, on that shore?


s: There is no water; no boat, no boatman, is there;


s: There is not so much as a rope to tow the boat, nor a man to draw


s: No earth, no sky, no time, no thing, is there: no shore, no ford!


s: that shall still the thirst of the soul?  You shall find naught


s: Be strong, and enter into your own body: for there your foothold


s: is firm.  Consider it well, O my heart! go not elsewhere,


s: Kabîr says: "Put all imaginations away, and stand fast in that


s: Lamps burn in every house, O blind one! and you cannot see them.


s: One day your eyes shall suddenly be opened, and you shall see:


s: and the fetters of death will fall from you.


s: There is nothing to say or to hear, there is nothing to do: it is


s: Because he lives in solitude, therefore the Yogi says that his


s: Your Lord is near: yet you are climbing the palm-tree to seek


s: The Brâhman priest goes from house to house and initiates people


s: Alas!  the true fountain of life is beside you., and you have set


s: Kabîr says: "I may never express how sweet my Lord is.  Yoga and


s: the telling of beads, virtue and vice--these are naught to Him."


s: O brother, my heart yearns for that true Guru, who fills the cup


s: of true love, and drinks of it himself, and offers it then to


s: He removes the veil from the eyes, and gives the true Vision of


s: He reveals the worlds in Him, and makes me to hear the Unstruck


s: Kabîr says: "Verily he has no fear, who has such a Guru to lead


s: The shadows of evening fall thick and deep, and the darkness of


s: Open the window to the west, and be lost in the sky of love;


s: Drink the sweet honey that steeps the petals of the lotus of the


s: Receive the waves in your body: what splendour is in the region


s: Hark!  the sounds of conches and bells are rising.


s: Kabîr says: "O brother, behold!  the Lord is in this vessel of my


s: More than all else do I cherish at heart that love which makes me


s: It is like the lotus, which lives in the water and blooms in the


s: water: yet the water cannot touch its petals, they open beyond


s: It is like a wife, who enters the fire at the bidding of love.


s: She burns and lets others grieve, yet never dishonours love.


s: This ocean of the world is hard to cross: its waters are very


s: deep.  Kabîr says: "Listen to me, O Sadhu! few there are who


s: My Lord hides Himself, and my Lord wonderfully reveals Himself:


s: My Lord has encompassed me with hardness, and my Lord has cast


s: My Lord brings to me words of sorrow and words of joy, and He


s: I will offer my body and mind to my Lord: I will give up my life,


s: He is without form, without quality, without decay:


s: But that formless God takes a thousand forms in the eyes of His


s: He dances in rapture, and waves of form arise from His dance.


s: The body and the mind cannot contain themselves, when they are


s: He is immersed in all consciousness, all joys, and all sorrows;


s: It is the mercy of my true Guru that has made me to know the


s: I have learned from Him how to walk without feet, to see without


s: eyes, to hear without ears, to drink without mouth, to fly


s: I have brought my love and my meditation into the land where


s: there is no sun and moon, nor day and night.


s: Without eating, I have tasted of the sweetness of nectar; and


s: without water, I have quenched my thirst.


s: Where there is the response of delight, there is the fullness of


s: joy.  Before whom can that joy be uttered?


s: Kabîr says: "The Guru is great beyond words, and great is the


s: Before the Unconditioned, the Conditioned dances: "Thou and I are


s: The Guru comes, and bows down before the disciple:


s: "Tell me, O Kabîr, when did your vocation begin?  Where did your


s: "When He whose forms are manifold had not begun His play: when


s: there was no Guru, and no disciple: when the world was not


s: spread out: when the Supreme One was alone--


s: Then I became an ascetic; then, O Gorakh, my love was drawn to


s: Brahma did not hold the crown on his head; the god Vishnu was not


s: I became suddenly revealed in Benares, and Râmânanda illumined


s: I brought with me the thirst for the Infinite, and I have come


s: In simplicity will I unite with the Simple One; my love will


s: On this tree is a bird: it dances in the joy of life.


s: None knows where it is: and who knows what the burden of its


s: Where the branches throw a deep shade, there does it have its


s: nest: and it comes in the evening and flies away in the morning,


s: and says not a word of that which it means.


s: None tell me of this bird that sings within me.


s: It is neither coloured nor colourless: it has neither form nor


s: It dwells within the Unattainable, the Infinite, and the Eternal;


s: Kabîr says: "O brother Sadhu! deep is the mystery.  Let wise men


s: A sore pain troubles me day and night, and I cannot sleep;


s: I long for the meeting with my Beloved, and my father's house


s: The gates of the sky are opened, the temple is revealed:


s: I meet my husband, and leave at His feet the offering of my body


s: Dance, my heart!  dance to-day with joy.


s: The strains of love fill the days and the nights with music, and


s: Mad with joy, life and death dance to the rhythm of this music.


s: The hills and the sea and the earth dance.  The world of man


s: Why put on the robe of the monk, and live aloof from the world in


s: Behold!  my heart dances in the delight of a hundred arts; and


s: Where is the need of words, when love has made drunken the heart?


s: When its load was light, the pan of the balance went up: now it


s: is full, where is the need for weighing?


s: The swan has taken its flight to the lake beyond the mountains;


s: why should it search for the pools and ditches any more?


s: Your Lord dwells within you: why need your outward eyes be


s: Kabîr says: "Listen, my brother!  my Lord, who ravishes my eyes,


s: How could the love between Thee and me sever?


s: As the leaf of the lotus abides on the water: so thou art my


s: As the night-bird Chakor gazes all night at the moon: so Thou art


s: From the beginning until the ending of time, there is love


s: between Thee and me; and how shall such love be extinguished?


s: Kabîr says: "As the river enters into the ocean, so my heart


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


s: You never prepared the bed of your husband:


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


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


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


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


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


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


s: If there be ignorance, then knowledge must die.


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


s: whose mind loses itself with ease in His contemplation.


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


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


s: Infinite by uniting love and renunciation in life.


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


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


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


s: O sadhu!  the simple union is the best.  Since the day when I met


s: I shut not my eyes, I close not my ears, I do not mortify my


s: I see with eyes open and smile, and behold His beauty everywhere:


s: The rising and the setting are one to me; all contradictions are


s: When I lie down, I lie prostrate at His feet.


s: He is the only adorable one to me: I have none other.


s: My tongue has left off impure words, it sings His glory day and


s: Whether I rise or sit down, I can never forget Him; for the


s: Kabîr says: "My heart is frenzied, and I disclose in my soul what


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


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


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


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


s: very well that all other things are untrue.


s: I laugh when I hear that the fish in the water is thirsty:


s: You do not see that the Real is in your home, and you wander from


s: Here is the truth!  Go where you will, to Benares or to Mathura;


s: if you do not find your soul, the world is unreal to you.


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


s: O sadhu!  purify your body in the simple way.


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


s: the wise man knows that Brahma is beyond both.


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


s: Kabîr says: "He who has found both love and renunciation never


s: The flute of the Infinite is played without ceasing, and its


s: When love renounces all limits, it reaches truth.


s: How widely the fragrance spreads!  It has no end, nothing stands


s: The form of this melody is bright like a million suns:


s: incomparably sounds the vina, the vina of the notes of truth.


s: Dear friend, I am eager to meet my Beloved!  My youth has


s: flowered, and the pain of separation from Him troubles my


s: I am wandering yet in the alleys of knowledge without purpose,


s: but I have received His news in these alleys of knowledge.


s: I have a letter from my Beloved: in this letter is an unutterable


s: Kabîr says: "O my loving friend!  I have got for my gift the


s: When I am parted from my Beloved, my heart is full of misery: I


s: have no comfort in the day, I have no sleep in the night.  To


s: The night is dark; the hours slip by.  Because my Lord is absent,


s: Kabîr says: "Listen, my friend!  there is no other satisfaction,


s: save in the encounter with the Beloved."


s: What is that flute whose music thrills me with joy?


s: With all its heart the rain-bird longs for the shower of rain;


s: But upon whose love does the Lover concentrate His entire life?


s: Have you not heard the tune which the Unstruck Music is playing?


s: In the midst of the chamber the harp of joy is gently and


s: sweetly played; and where is the need of going without to hear


s: If you have not drunk of the nectar of that One Love, what boots


s: it though you should purge yourself of all stains?


s: The Kazi is searching the words of the Koran, and instructing


s: others: but if his heart be not steeped in that love, what does


s: it avail, though he be a teacher of men?


s: The Yogi dyes his garments with red: but if he knows naught of


s: that colour of love, what does it avail though his garments be


s: Kabîr says: "Whether I be in the temple or the balcony, in the


s: camp or in the flower garden, I tell you truly that every


s: moment my Lord is taking His delight in me."


s: Therein there is no asking and no not-asking,


s: There one is immersed in the joy of the seeking: plunged in the


s: The lover is never slow in offering his head for his Lord's


s: He is the real Sadhu, who can reveal the form of the Formless to


s: Who teaches the simple way of attaining Him, that is other than


s: Who does not make you close the doors, and hold the breath, and


s: Who makes you perceive the Supreme Spirit wherever the mind


s: Who teaches you to be still in the midst of all your activities.


s: Ever immersed in bliss, having no fear in his mind, he keeps the


s: spirit of union in the midst of all enjoyments.


s: The infinite dwelling of the Infinite Being is everywhere: in


s: Firm as the thunderbolt, the seat of the seeker is established


s: He who is within is without: I see Him and none else.


s: Receive that Word from which the Universe springeth!


s: That word is the Guru; I have heard it, and become the disciple.


s: How many are there who know the meaning of that word?


s: The householder leaves his house when he hears it,


s: The ascetic comes back to love when he hears it,


s: The Spirit of Renunciation points to that Word,


s: From that Word the world-form has sprung,


s: Kabîr says: "But who knows whence the Word cometh?


s: From the sole of the foot to the crown of the head this mind is


s: O man, if thou dost not know thine own Lord, whereof art thou so


s: Put thy cleverness away: mere words shall never unite thee to


s: Do not deceive thyself with the witness of the Scriptures:


s: Love is something other than this, and he who has sought it truly


s: The savour of wandering in the ocean of deathless life has rid me


s: As the tree is in the seed, so all diseases are in this asking.


s: When at last you are come to the ocean of happiness, do not go


s: Wake, foolish man!  for Death stalks you.  Here is pure water


s: Do not follow the mirage on foot, but thirst for the nectar;


s: Dhruva, Prahlad, and Shukadeva have drunk of it, and also Raidas


s: The saints are drunk with love, their thirst is for love.


s: Kabîr says: "Listen to me, brother!  The nest of fear is broken.


s: Not for a moment have you come face to face with the world:


s: You are weaving your bondage of falsehood, your words are full of


s: With the load of desires which you.  hold on your head, how can


s: Kabîr says: "Keep within you truth, detachment, and love."


s: Who has ever taught the widowed wife to burn herself on the pyre


s: And who has ever taught love to find bliss in renunciation?


s: He who watches over birds, beasts, and insects,


s: He who cared for you whilst you were yet in your mother's womb,


s: Shall He not care for you now that you are come forth?


s: Oh my heart, how could you turn from the smile of your Lord and


s: You have left Your Beloved and are thinking of others: and this


s: The rain-bird wails in thirst for the rain: almost she dies of


s: her longing, yet she would have none other water than the


s: Drawn by the love of music, the deer moves forward: she dies as


s: she listens to the music, yet she shrinks not in fear.


s: The widowed wife sits by the body of her dead husband: she is not


s: O brother! when I was forgetful, my true Guru showed me the Way.


s: Then I left off all rites and ceremonies, I bathed no more in the


s: Then I learned that it was I alone who was mad, and the whole


s: world beside me was sane; and I had disturbed these wise people.


s: From that time forth I knew no more how to roll in the dust in


s: I do not worship the image with flowers.


s: It is not the austerities that mortify the flesh which are


s: When you leave off your clothes and kill your senses, you do not


s: The man who is kind and who practises righteousness, who remains


s: passive amidst the affairs of the world, who considers all


s: He attains the Immortal Being, the true God is ever with him.


s: Kabîr says: "He attains the true Name whose words are pure, and


s: The Yogi dyes his garments, instead of dyeing his mind in the


s: He sits within the temple of the Lord, leaving Brahma to worship


s: He pierces holes in his ears, he has a great beard and matted


s: He goes forth into the wilderness, killing all his desires, and


s: He shaves his head and dyes his garments; he reads the Gîtâ and


s: Kabîr says: "You are going to the doors of death, bound hand and


s: I do not know what manner of God is mine.


s: The Mullah cries aloud to Him: and why?  Is your Lord deaf?  The


s: subtle anklets that ring on the feet of an insect when it moves


s: Tell your beads, paint your forehead with the mark of your God,


s: and wear matted locks long and showy: but a deadly weapon is in


s: I hear the melody of His flute, and I cannot contain myself:


s: The flower blooms, though it is not spring; and already the bee


s: The sky roars and the lightning flashes, the waves arise in my


s: The rain falls; and my heart longs for my Lord.


s: Where the rhythm of the world rises and falls, thither my heart


s: There the hidden banners are fluttering in the air.


s: Kabîr says: "My heart is dying, though it lives."


s: If God be within the mosque, then to whom does this world belong?


s: then who is there to know what happens without?


s: Hari is in the East: Allah is in the West.  Look within your


s: heart, for there you will find both Karim and Ram;


s: All the men and women of the world are His living forms.


s: Kabîr is the child of Allah and of Ram: He is my Guru, He is my


s: He who is meek and contented., he who has an equal vision, whose


s: mind is filled with the fullness of acceptance and of rest;


s: He who has seen Him and touched Him, he is freed from all fear


s: To him the perpetual thought of God is like sandal paste smeared


s: on the body, to him nothing else is delight:


s: His work and his rest are filled with music: he sheds abroad the


s: Kabîr says: "Touch His feet, who is one and indivisible,


s: immutable and peaceful; who fills all vessels to the brim with


s: Go thou to the company of the good, where the Beloved One has His


s: Take all thy thoughts and love and instruction from thence.


s: Let that assembly be burnt to ashes where His Name is not spoken!


s: Waver no more, think only of the Beloved;


s: Set not thy heart on the worship of other gods, there is no worth


s: Kabîr deliberates and says: "Thus thou shalt never find the


s: Some look for it in the east, and some in the west; some in the


s: But the servant Kabîr has appraised it at its true value, and has


s: The palanquin came to take me away to my husband's home, and it


s: But the bearers have brought me into the lonely forest, where I


s: O bearers, I entreat you by your feet, wait but a moment longer:


s: let me go back to my kinsmen and friends, and take my leave of


s: The servant Kabîr sings: "O Sadhu!  finish your buying and


s: selling, have done with your good and your bad: for there are


s: no markets and no shops in the land to which you go."


s: O my heart! you have not known all the secrets of this city of


s: love: in ignorance you came, and in ignorance you return.


s: O my friend, what have you done with this life?  You have taken


s: on your head the burden heavy with stones, and who is to


s: Your Friend stands on the other shore, but you never think in


s: The boat is broken, and yet you sit ever upon the bank; and thus


s: you are beaten to no purpose by the waves.


s: The servant Kabîr asks you to consider; who is there that shall


s: You are alone, you have no companion: you will suffer the


s: The Vedas say that the Unconditioned stands beyond the world of


s: O woman, what does it avail thee to dispute whether He is beyond


s: See thou everything as thine own dwelling place: the mist of


s: pleasure and pain can never spread there.


s: There Brahma is revealed day and night: there light is His


s: garment, light is His seat, light rests on thy head.


s: Kabîr says: "The Master, who is true, He is all light."


s: Open your eyes of love, and see Him who pervades this world I


s: consider it well, and know that this is your own country.


s: When you meet the true Guru, He will awaken your heart;


s: He will tell you the secret of love and detachment, and then you


s: will know indeed that He transcends this universe.


s: This world is the City of Truth, its maze of paths enchants the


s: We can reach the goal without crossing the road, such is the


s: Where the ring of manifold joys ever dances about Him, there is


s: When we know this, then all our receiving and renouncing is


s: Thenceforth the heat of having shall never scorch us more.


s: He has spread His form of love throughout all the world.


s: From that Ray which is Truth, streams of new forms are


s: perpetually springing: and He pervades those forms.


s: All the gardens and groves and bowers are abounding with blossom;


s: There the Unstruck Music eddies around the Infinite One;


s: There in the midst the Throne of the Unheld is shining, whereon


s: Millions of suns are shamed by the radiance of a single hair of


s: On the harp of the road what true melodies are being sounded!


s: There the Eternal Fountain is playing its endless life-streams of


s: They call Him Emptiness who is the Truth of truths, in Whom all


s: There within Him creation goes forward, which is beyond all


s: philosophy; for philosophy cannot attain to Him:


s: There is an endless world, O my Brother! and there is the


s: Nameless Being, of whom naught can be said.


s: Only he knows it who has reached that region: it is other than


s: No form, no body, no length, no breadth is seen there: how can I


s: He comes to the Path of the Infinite on whom the grace of the


s: Lord descends: he is freed from births and deaths who attains


s: Kabîr says: "It cannot be told by the words of the mouth, it


s: O my heart!  let us go to that country where dwells the Beloved,


s: There Love is filling her pitcher from the well, yet she has no


s: There the clouds do not cover the sky, yet the rain falls down in


s: O bodiless one!  do not sit on your doorstep; go forth and bathe


s: There it is ever moonlight and never dark; and who speaks of one


s: sun only?  that land is illuminate with the rays of a million


s: Kabîr says: "O Sadhu! hear my deathless words.  If you want your


s: own good, examine and consider them well.


s: You have estranged yourself from the Creator, of whom you have


s: sprung: you have lost your reason, you have bought death.


s: All doctrines and all teachings are sprung from Him, from Him


s: they grow: know this for certain, and have no fear.


s: Hear from me the tidings of this great truth!


s: Whose name do you sing, and on whom do you meditate?  O, come


s: He dwells at the heart of all things, so why take refuge in empty


s: If you place the Guru at a distance from you, then it is but the


s: If indeed the Master be far away, then who is it else that is


s: When you think that He is not here, then you wander further and


s: further away, and seek Him in vain with tears.


s: Where He is far off, there He is unattainable: where He is near,


s: Kabîr says: "Lest His servant should suffer pain He pervades him


s: Know yourself then, O Kabîr; for He is in you from head to foot.


s: Sing with gladness, and keep your seat unmoved within your heart.


s: I am neither pious nor ungodly, I live neither by law nor by


s: I am neither a speaker nor hearer, I am neither a servant nor


s: I shall go neither to hell nor to heaven.


s: I do all works; yet I am apart from all works.


s: Few comprehend my meaning: he who can comprehend it, he sits


s: Kabîr seeks neither to establish nor to destroy.


s: The distinction of the Conditioned from the Unconditioned is but


s: The Unconditioned is the seed, the Conditioned is the flower and


s: Knowledge is the branch, and the Name is the root.


s: Look, and see where the root is: happiness shall be yours when


s: The root will lead you to the branch, the leaf, the flower, and


s: It is the encounter with the Lord, it is the attainment of bliss,


s: In the beginning was He alone, sufficient unto Himself: the


s: formless, colourless, and unconditioned Being.


s: Then was there neither beginning, middle, nor end;


s: Then were no eyes, no darkness, no light;


s: Then were no ground, air, nor sky; no fire, water, nor earth; no


s: rivers like the Ganges and the Jumna, no seas, oceans, and waves.


s: Kabîr ponders in his mind and says, "Then was there no activity:


s: the Supreme Being remained merged in the unknown depths of His


s: The Guru neither eats nor drinks, neither lives nor dies:


s: Neither has He form, line, colour, nor vesture.


s: He who has neither caste nor clan nor anything else--how may I


s: He has neither colour nor colourlessness,


s: Kabîr ponders and says: "He who has neither caste nor country,


s: who is formless and without quality, fills all space."


s: The Creator brought into being the Game of Joy: and from the word


s: The earth is His joy; His joy is the sky;


s: His joy is the flashing of the sun and the moon;


s: His joy is the beginning, the middle, and the end;


s: Oceans and waves are His joy: His joy the Sarasvati, the Jumna,


s: The Guru is One: and life and death., union and separation, are


s: His play the land and water, the whole universe!


s: In play is the Creation spread out, in play it is established.


s: The whole world, says Kabîr, rests in His play, yet still the


s: The harp gives forth murmurous music; and the dance goes on


s: It is played without fingers, it is heard without ears: for He is


s: The gate is locked, but within there is fragrance: and there the


s: And what shall I beg of the Beggar He gives without my asking.


s: Kabîr says: "I am His own: now let that befall which may befall!"


s: My heart cries aloud for the house of my lover; the open road and


s: My heart finds no joy in anything: my mind and my body are


s: His palace has a million gates, but there is a vast ocean between


s: How shall I cross it, O friend?  for endless is the outstretching


s: How wondrously this lyre is wrought!  When its strings are


s: rightly strung, it maddens the heart: but when the keys are


s: broken and the strings are loosened, none regard it more.


s: I tell my parents with laughter that I must go to my Lord in the


s: They are angry, for they do not want me to go, and they say: "She


s: can have whatsoever she wishes; and therefore she is impatient


s: Dear friend, lift my veil lightly now; for this is the night of


s: Kabîr says: "Listen to me!  My heart is eager to meet my lover: I


s: Serve your God, who has come into this temple of life!


s: Do not act the part of a madman, for the night is thickening


s: He has awaited me for countless ages, for love of me He has


s: Yet I did not know the bliss that was so near to me, for my love


s: But now, my Lover has made known to me the meaning of the note


s: Kabîr says: "Behold!  how great is my good fortune!  I have


s: received the unending caress of my Beloved!"


s: Clouds thicken in the sky!  O, listen to the deep voice of their


s: The rain comes from the east with its monotonous murmur.


s: Take care of the fences and boundaries of your fields, lest the


s: Prepare the soil of deliverance, and let the creepers of love and


s: It is the prudent farmer who will bring his harvest home; he


s: shall fill both his vessels, and feed both the wise men and the


s: This day is dear to me above all other days, for to-day the


s: My chamber and my courtyard are beautiful with His presence.


s: My longings sing His Name, and they are become lost in His great


s: I wash His feet, and I look upon His Face; and I lay before Him


s: as an offering my body, my mind, and all that I have.


s: What a day of gladness is that day in which my Beloved, who is my


s: All evils fly from my heart when I see my Lord.


s: "My love has touched Him; my heart is longing for the Name which


s: Thus sings Kabîr, the servant of all servants.


s: Is there any wise man who will listen to that solemn music which


s: For He, the Source of all music, makes all vessels full fraught,


s: He who is in the body is ever athirst, for he pursues that which


s: But ever there wells forth deeper and deeper the sound "He is


s: this--this is He"; fusing love and renunciation into one.


s: Kabîr says: "O brother!  that is the Primal Word."


s: To whom shall I go to learn about my Beloved?


s: Kabîr says: "As you never may find the forest if you ignore the


s: tree, so He may never be found in abstractions."


s: I have learned the Sanskrit language, so let all men call me


s: But where is the use of this, when I am floating adrift, and


s: parched with thirst, and burning with the heat of desire?


s: To no purpose do you bear on your head this load of pride and


s: Kabîr says: "Lay it down in the dust, and go forth to meet the


s: The woman who is parted from her lover spins at the spinning


s: The city of the body arises in its beauty; and within it the


s: The wheel of love revolves in the sky, and the seat is made of


s: What subtle threads the woman weaves, and makes them fine with


s: Kabîr says: "I am weaving the garland of day and night.  When my


s: Lover comes and touches me with His feet, I shall offer Him my


s: Beneath the great umbrella of my King millions of suns and moons


s: He is the Mind within my mind: He is the Eye within mine eye.


s: Ah, could my mind and eyes be one!  Could my love but reach to my


s: Kabîr says: "When you unite love with the Lover, then you have


s: I cry aloud to all, to the king and the beggar, the emperor and


s: Whosoever seeks for shelter in the Highest, let all come and


s: Let the weary come and lay his burdens here!


s: So live here, my brother, that you may cross with ease to that


s: It is a land without earth or sky, without moon or stars;


s: For only the radiance of Truth shines in my Lord's Durbar.


s: Kabîr says: "O beloved brother!  naught is essential save Truth."


s: Came with my Lord to my Lord's home: but I lived not with Him and


s: On my wedding night my women-friends sang in chorus, and I was


s: anointed with the unguents of pleasure and pain:


s: But when the ceremony was over, I left my Lord and came away, and


s: Kabîr says, "I shall go to my Lord's house with my love at my


s: side; then shall I sound the trumpet of triumph!"


s: O friend, dear heart of mine, think well!  if you love indeed,


s: If you have found Him, then give yourself utterly, and take Him


s: If the deep sleep of rest has come to your eyes, why waste your


s: time making the bed and arranging the pillows?


s: Kabîr says: "I tell you the ways of love!  Even though the head


s: itself must be given, why should you weep over it?"


s: The Lord is in me, the Lord is in you, as life is in every seed.


s: O servant!  put false pride away, and seek for Him within you.


s: The fever of life is stilled, and all stains are washed away;


s: Hark to the unstruck bells and drums!  Take your delight in love!


s: One Love it is that pervades the whole world, few there are who


s: They are blind who hope to see it by the light of reason, that


s: reason which is the cause of separation--


s: How blessed is Kabîr, that amidst this great joy he sings within


s: It is the music of the meeting of soul with soul;


s: It is the music of the forgetting of sorrows;


s: It is the music that transcends all coming in and all going


s: The month of March draws near: ah, who will unite me to my Lover?


s: His colour is in all the pictures of the world, and it bewitches


s: Those who know this, know what is this unutterable play of the


s: Kabîr says: "Listen to me, brother' there are not many who have


s: Oh Narad!  I know that my Lover cannot be far:


s: When my Lover wakes, I wake; when He sleeps, I sleep.


s: He is destroyed at the root who gives pain to my Beloved.


s: Where they sing His praise, there I live;


s: When He moves, I walk before Him: my heart yearns for my Beloved.


s: Kabîr says: "The Lover Himself reveals the glory of true love."


s: Hang up the swing of love to-day!  Hang the body and the mind


s: between the arms of the Beloved, in the ecstasy of love's joy:


s: Bring the tearful streams of the rainy clouds to your eyes, and


s: cover your heart with the shadow of darkness:


s: Bring your face nearer to His ear, and speak of the deepest


s: Kabîr says: "Listen to me, brother!  bring the vision of the


s: Translated from the original Bengali by the author


s: Ah, who was it coloured that little frock


s: Child, how happy you are sitting in the dust


s: If people came to know where my king's palace is


s: Mother, I do want to leave off my lessons


s: Mother, let us imagine we are travelling


s: Mother, the folk who live up in the clouds


s: Supposing I became a <i>champa</i> flower


s: Why are those tears in your eyes, my child


s: You say that father writes a lot of books


s: I paced alone on the road across the field while the sunset was


s: The daylight sank deeper and deeper into the darkness, and the


s: widowed land, whose harvest had been reaped, lay silent.


s: Suddenly a boy's shrill voice rose into the sky.  He traversed


s: the dark unseen, leaving the track of his song across the hush of


s: His village home lay there at the end of the waste land, beyond


s: the sugar-cane field, hidden among the shadows of the banana and


s: the slender areca palm, the cocoa-nut and the dark green


s: I stopped for a moment in my lonely way under the starlight, and


s: saw spread before me the darkened earth surrounding with her arms


s: and evening lamps, and young lives glad with a gladness that


s: knows nothing of its value for the world.


s: On the seashore of endless worlds children meet.


s: The infinite sky is motionless overhead and the restless water is


s: They build their houses with sand, and they play with empty


s: shells.  With withered leaves they weave their boats and


s: smilingly float them on the vast deep.  Children have their play


s: They know not how to swim, they know not how to cast nets.


s: Pearl-fishers dive for pearls, merchants sail in their ships,


s: while children gather pebbles and scatter them again.  They seek


s: not for hidden treasures, they know not how to cast nets.


s: The sea surges up with laughter, and pale gleams the smile of the


s: children, even like a mother while rocking her baby's cradle.


s: The sea plays with children, and pale gleams the smile of the


s: On the seashore of endless worlds children meet.  Tempest roams


s: in the pathless sky, ships are wrecked in the trackless water,


s: death is abroad and children play.  On the seashore of endless


s: worlds is the great meeting of children.


s: The sleep that flits on baby's eyes--does anybody know from where


s: glow-worms, there hang two shy buds of enchantment.  From there


s: The smile that flickers on baby's lips when he sleeps--does


s: anybody know where it was born?  Yes, there is a rumour that a


s: young pale beam of a crescent moon touched the edge of a


s: vanishing autumn cloud, and there the smile was first born in the


s: The sweet, soft freshness that blooms on baby's limbs--does


s: anybody know where it was hidden so long?  Yes, when the mother


s: was a young girl it lay pervading her heart in tender and silent


s: mystery of love--the sweet, soft freshness that has bloomed on


s: If baby only wanted to, he could fly up to heaven this moment.


s: It is not for nothing that he does not leave us.


s: He loves to rest his head on mother's bosom, and cannot ever bear


s: Baby knows all manner of wise words, though few on earth can


s: It is not for nothing that he never wants to speak.


s: The one thing he wants is to learn mother's words from mother's


s: lips.  That is why he looks so innocent.


s: Baby had a heap of gold and pearls, yet he came like a beggar on


s: It is not for nothing he came in such a disguise.


s: This dear little naked mendicant pretends to be utterly helpless,


s: Baby was so free from every tie in the land of the tiny crescent


s: It was not for nothing he gave up his freedom.


s: He knows that there is room for endless joy in mother's little


s: corner of a heart, and it is sweeter far than liberty to be


s: Baby never knew how to cry.  He dwelt in the land of perfect


s: It is not for nothing he has chosen to shed tears.


s: Though with the smile of his dear face he draws mother's yearning


s: Ah, who was it coloured that little frock, my child, and covered


s: your sweet limbs with that little red tunic?


s: You have come out in the morning to play in the courtyard,


s: But who was it coloured that little frock, my child?


s: What is it makes you laugh, my little life-bud?


s: Mother smiles at you standing on the threshold.


s: She claps her hands and her bracelets jingle, and you dance with


s: your bamboo stick in your hand like a tiny little shepherd.


s: But what is it makes you laugh, my little life-bud?


s: O beggar, what do you beg for, clinging to your mother's neck


s: O greedy heart, shall I pluck the world like a fruit from the sky


s: The wind carries away in glee the tinkling of your anklet bells.


s: The sun smiles and watches your toilet.  The sky watches over you


s: tiptoe to your bed and kisses your eyes.


s: The fairy mistress of dreams is coming towards you, flying


s: The world-mother keeps her seat by you in your mother's heart.


s: He who plays his music to the stars is standing at your window


s: And the fairy mistress of dreams is coming towards you, flying


s: Who stole sleep from baby's eyes?  I must know.


s: Clasping her pitcher to her waist mother went to fetch water from


s: It was noon.  The children's playtime was over; the ducks in the


s: The shepherd boy lay asleep under the shadow of the <i>banyan</i>


s: The crane stood grave and still in the swamp near the mango


s: In the meanwhile the Sleep-stealer came and, snatching sleep from


s: When mother came back she found baby travelling the room over on


s: Who stole sleep from our baby's eyes?  I must know.  I must find


s: I must look into that dark cave, where, through boulders and


s: scowling stones, trickles a tiny stream.


s: I must search in the drowsy shade of the <i>bakula</i> grove,


s: where pigeons coo in their corner, and fairies' anklets tinkle in


s: In the evening I will peep into the whispering silence of the


s: bamboo forest, where fireflies squander their light, and will ask


s: Shouldn't I give her a good lesson if I could only catch her!


s: I would raid her nest and see where she hoards all her stolen


s: I would plunder it all, and carry it home.


s: I would bind her two wings securely, set her on the bank of the


s: river, and then let her play at fishing with a reed among the


s: When the marketing is over in the evening, and the village


s: children sit in their mothers' laps, then the night birds will


s: "Where have I come from, where did you pick me up?"  the baby


s: She answered half crying, half laughing, and clasping the baby to


s: You were in the dolls of my childhood's games; and when with clay


s: You were enshrined with our household deity, in his worship I


s: In all my hopes and my loves, in my life, in the life of my


s: In the lap of the deathless Spirit who rules our home you have


s: When in girlhood my heart was opening its petals, you hovered as


s: Your tender softness bloomed in my youthful limbs, like a glow in


s: Heaven's first darling, twin-born with the morning light, you


s: have floated down the stream of the world's life, and at last you


s: As I gaze on your face, mystery overwhelms me; you who belong to


s: For fear of losing you I hold you tight to my breast.  What magic


s: I wish I could take a quiet corner in the heart of my baby's very


s: I know it has stars that talk to him, and a sky that stoops down


s: to his face to amuse him with its silly clouds and rainbows.


s: could move, come creeping to his window with their stories and


s: I wish I could travel by the road that crosses baby's mind, and


s: Where messengers run errands for no cause between the kingdoms of


s: Where Reason makes kites of her laws and flies them, and Truth


s: When I bring you coloured toys, my child, I understand why there


s: is such a play of colours on clouds, on water, and why flowers


s: are painted in tints--when I give coloured toys to you, my child.


s: When I sing to make you dance, I truly know why there is music in


s: When I bring sweet things to your greedy hands, I know why there


s: is honey in the cup of the flower, and why fruits are secretly


s: filled with sweet juice--when I bring sweet things to your greedy


s: When I kiss your face to make you smile, my darling, I surely


s: understand what pleasure streams from the sky in morning light,


s: and what delight the summer breeze brings to my body--when I kiss


s: Why are those tears in your eyes, my child?


s: How horrid of them to be always scolding you for nothing?


s: You have stained your fingers and face with ink while writing--is


s: O, fie!  Would they dare to call the full moon dirty because it


s: For every little trifle they blame you, my child.  They are ready


s: You tore your clothes while playing--is that why they call you


s: O, fie!  What would they call an autumn morning that smiles


s: Take no heed of what they say to you, my child.


s: They make a long list of your misdeeds.  Everybody knows how you


s: love sweet things--is that why they call you greedy?


s: O, fie!  What then would they call us who love you?


s: Say of him what you please, but I know my child's failings.


s: I do not love him because he is good, but because he is my little


s: How should you know how dear he can be when you try to weigh his


s: When I must punish him he becomes all the more a part of my


s: When I cause his tears to come my heart weeps with him.


s: I alone have a right to blame and punish, for he only may


s: Child, how happy you are sitting in the dust, playing with a


s: I smile at your play with that little bit of a broken twig.


s: I am busy with my accounts, adding up figures by the hour.


s: Perhaps you glance at me and think, "What a stupid game to spoil


s: Child, I have forgotten the art of being absorbed in sticks and


s: I seek out costly playthings, and gather lumps of gold and


s: With whatever you find you create your glad games, I spend both


s: my time and my strength over things I never can obtain.


s: In my frail canoe I struggle to cross the sea of desire, and


s: I only said, "When in the evening the round full moon gets


s: entangled among the branches of that <i>Kadam</i> tree, couldn't


s: But dâdâ [<i>elder brother</i>] laughed at me and said, "Baby,


s: you are the silliest child I have ever known.  The moon is ever


s: so far from us, how could anybody catch it?"


s: I said, "Dâdâ how foolish you are!  When mother looks out of her


s: window and smiles down at us playing, would you call her far


s: Still said, "You are a stupid child!  But, baby, where could you


s: find a net big enough to catch the moon with?"


s: I said, "Surely you could catch it with your hands."


s: But dâdâ laughed and said, "You are the silliest child I have


s: known.  If it came nearer, you would see how big the moon is."


s: I said, "Dâdâ, what nonsense they teach at your school!  When


s: mother bends her face down to kiss us does her face look very


s: But still dâdâ says, "You are a stupid child."


s: Mother, the folk who live up in the clouds call out to me--


s: "We play from the time we wake till the day ends.


s: We play with the golden dawn, we play with the silver moon.


s: I ask, "But, how am I to get up to you?"  They answer, "Come to


s: the edge of the earth, lift up your hands to the sky, and you


s: "My mother is waiting for me at home," I say.  "How can I leave


s: But I know a nicer game than that, mother.


s: I shall cover you with both my hands, and our house-top will be


s: The folk who live in the waves call out to me--


s: "We sing from morning till night; on and on we travel and know


s: I ask, "But, how am I to join you?"  They tell me, "Come to the


s: edge of the shore and stand with your eyes tight shut, and you


s: I say, "My mother always wants me at home in the evening--how can


s: I will be the waves and you will be a strange shore.


s: I shall roll on and on and on, and break upon your lap with


s: And no one in the world will know where we both are.


s: Supposing I became a <i>champa</i> flower, just for fun, and


s: grew on a branch high up that tree, and shook in the wind with


s: laughter and danced upon the newly budded leaves, would you know


s: You would call, "Baby, where are you?"  and I should laugh to


s: I should slyly open my petals and watch you at your work.


s: When after your bath, with wet hair spread on your shoulders, you


s: little court where you say your prayers, you would notice the


s: scent of the flower, but not know that it came from me.


s: When after the midday meal you sat at the window reading


s: your lap, I should fling my wee little shadow on to the page of


s: But would you guess that it was the tiny shadow of your little


s: When in the evening you went to the cow-shed with the lighted


s: lamp in your hand, I should suddenly drop on to the earth again


s: and be your own baby once more, and beg you to tell me a story.


s: "Where have you been, you naughty child?"


s: "I won't tell you, mother."  That's what you and I would say


s: If people came to know where my king's palace is, it would vanish


s: The walls are of white silver and the roof of shining gold.


s: The queen lives in a palace with seven courtyards, and she wears


s: But let me tell you, mother, in a whisper, where my king's palace


s: It is at the corner of our terrace where the pot of the


s: The princess lies sleeping on the far-away shore of the seven


s: There is none in the world who can find her but myself.


s: She has bracelets on her arms and pearl drops in her ears; her


s: will fall from her lips when she smiles.


s: But let me whisper in your ear, mother; she is there in the


s: corner of our terrace where the pot of the <i>tulsi</i> plant


s: When it is time for you to go to the river for your bath, step up


s: I sit in the corner where the shadows of the walls meet together.


s: Only puss is allowed to come with me, for she knows where the


s: But let me whisper, mother, in your ear where the barber in the


s: It is at the corner of the terrace where the pot of the


s: Mother, the light has grown grey in the sky; I do not know what


s: There is no fun in my play, so I have come to you.  It is


s: Leave off your work, mother; sit here by the window and tell me


s: where the desert of Tepântar in the fairy tale is?


s: The shadow of the rains has covered the day from end to end.


s: The fierce lightning is scratching the sky with its nails.


s: When the clouds rumble and it thunders, I love to be afraid in my


s: When the heavy rain patters for hours on the bamboo leaves, and


s: our windows shake and rattle at the gusts of wind, I like to sit


s: alone in the room, mother, with you, and hear you talk about the


s: Where is it, mother, on the shore of what sea, at the foot of


s: what hills, in the kingdom of what king?


s: There are no hedges there to mark the fields, no footpath across


s: it by which the villagers reach their village in the evening, or


s: the woman who gathers dry sticks in the forest can bring her load


s: I can imagine how, on just such a cloudy day, the young son of


s: the king is riding alone on a grey horse through the desert, in


s: search of the princess who lies imprisoned in the giant's palace


s: When the haze of the rain comes down in the distant sky, and


s: lightning starts up like a sudden fit of pain, does he remember


s: his unhappy mother, abandoned by the king, sweeping the cow-stall


s: See, mother, it is almost dark before the day is over, and there


s: are no travellers yonder on the village road.


s: The shepherd boy has gone home early from the pasture, and men


s: have left their fields to sit on mats under the eaves of their


s: Mother, I have left all my books on the shelf--do not ask me to


s: When I grow up and am big like my father, I shall learn all that


s: But just for to-day, tell me, mother, where the desert of


s: Sullen clouds are gathering fast over the black fringe of the


s: The palm trees in a row by the lake are smiting their heads


s: against the dismal sky; the crows with their draggled wings are


s: silent on the tamarind branches, and the eastern bank of the


s: Our cow is lowing loud, tied at the fence.


s: O child, wait here till I bring her into the stall.


s: Men have crowded into the flooded field to catch the fishes as


s: they escape from the overflowing ponds; the rain water is running


s: Listen, someone is shouting for the boatman at the ford.


s: O child, the daylight is dim, and the crossing at the ferry is


s: The sky seems to ride fast upon the madly-rushing rain; the water


s: early from the Ganges with their filled pitchers.


s: The road to the market is desolate, the lane to the river is


s: slippery.  The wind is roaring and struggling among the bamboo


s: branches like a wild beast tangled in a net.


s: Day by day I float my paper boats one by one down the running


s: In big black letters I write my name on them and the name of the


s: I hope that someone in some strange land will find them and know


s: I load my little boats with <i>shiuli</i> flowers from our


s: garden, and hope that these blooms of the dawn will be carried


s: I launch my paper boats and look up into the sky and see the


s: little clouds setting their white bulging sails.


s: I know not what playmate of mine in the sky sends them down the


s: When night comes I bury my face in my arms and dream that my


s: paper boats float on and on under the midnight stars.


s: The fairies of sleep are sailing in them, and the lading is their


s: The boat of the boatman Madhu is moored at the wharf of Rajgunj.


s: It is uselessly laden with jute, and has been lying there idle


s: If he would only lend me his boat, I should man her with a


s: hundred oars, and hoist sails, five or six or seven.


s: I should never steer her to stupid markets.  I should sail the


s: seven seas and the thirteen rivers of fairyland.


s: But, mother, you won't weep for me in a corner.


s: I am not going into the forest like Ramachandra to come back only


s: I shall become the prince of the story, and fill my boat with


s: I shall take my friend Ashu with me.  We shall sail merrily


s: across the seven seas and the thirteen rivers of fairyland.


s: We shall set sail in the early morning light.


s: When at noontide you are bathing at the pond, we shall be in the


s: We shall pass the ford of Tirpurni, and leave behind us the


s: When we come back it will be getting dark, and I shall tell you


s: I shall cross the seven seas and the thirteen rivers of


s: I long to go over there to the further bank of the river,


s: Where those boats are tied to the bamboo poles in a line;


s: Where men cross over in their boats in the morning with ploughs


s: on their shoulders to till their far-away fields;


s: Where the cowherds make their lowing cattle swim across to the


s: Whence they all come back home in the evening, leaving the


s: jackals to howl in the island overgrown with weeds,


s: Mother, if you don't mind, I should like to become the boatman of


s: They say there are strange pools hidden behind that high bank,


s: Where flocks of wild ducks come when the rains are over, and


s: thick reeds grow round the margins where waterbirds lay their


s: Where snipes with their dancing tails stamp their tiny footprints


s: Where in the evening the tall grasses crested with white flowers


s: invite the moonbeam to float upon their waves.


s: I shall cross and cross back from bank to bank, and all the boys


s: and girls of the village will wonder at me while they are


s: When the sun climbs the mid sky and morning wears on to noon, I


s: shall come running to you, saying, "Mother, I am hungry!"


s: When the day is done and the shadows cower under the trees, I


s: I shall never go away from you into the town to work like father.


s: When storm clouds rumble in the sky and June showers come down,


s: The moist east wind comes marching over the heath to blow its


s: Then crowds of flowers come out of a sudden, from nobody knows


s: where, and dance upon the grass in wild glee.


s: Mother, I really think the flowers go to school underground.


s: They do their lessons with doors shut, and if they want to come


s: out to play before it is time, their master makes them stand in a


s: When the rains come they have their holidays.


s: Branches clash together in the forest, and the leaves rustle in


s: the wild wind, the thunder-clouds clap their giant hands and the


s: flower children rush out in dresses of pink and yellow and white.


s: Do you know, mother, their home is in the sky, where the stars


s: Haven't you seen how eager they are to get there?  Don't you know


s: Of course, I can guess to whom they raise their arms: they have


s: Imagine, mother, that you are to stay at home and I am to travel


s: Imagine that my boat is ready at the landing fully laden.


s: Now think well, mother, before you say what I shall bring for you


s: Mother, do you want heaps and heaps of gold?


s: There, by the banks of golden streams, fields are full of golden


s: And in the shade of the forest path the golden <i>champa</i>


s: I will gather them all for you in many hundred baskets.


s: Mother, do you want pearls big as the raindrops of autumn?


s: I shall cross to the pearl island shore.  There in the early


s: morning light pearls tremble on the meadow flowers, pearls drop


s: on the grass, and pearls are scattered on the sand in spray by


s: My brother shall have a pair of horses with wings to fly among


s: For father I shall bring a magic pen that, without his knowing,


s: If I were only a little puppy, not your baby, mother dear, would


s: you say "No" to me if I tried to eat from your dish?


s: Would you drive me off, saying to me, "Get away, you naughty


s: Then go, mother, go!  I will never come to you when you call me,


s: If I were only a little green parrot, and not your baby, mother


s: dear, would you keep me chained lest I should fly away?


s: Would you shake your finger at me and say, "What an ungrateful


s: wretch of a bird!  It is gnawing at its chain day and night?"


s: Then, go, mother, go!  I will run away into the woods; I will


s: never let you take me in your arms again.


s: When the gong sounds ten in the morning and I walk to school by


s: Every day I meet the hawker crying, "Bangles, crystal bangles!"


s: There is nothing to hurry him on, there is no road he must take,


s: no place he must go to, no time when he must come home.


s: I wish I were a hawker, spending my day in the road, crying,


s: When at four in the afternoon I come back from the school,


s: I can see through the gate of that house the gardener digging the


s: dust, nobody takes him to task if he gets baked in the sun or


s: I wish I were a gardener digging away at the garden with nobody


s: Just as it gets dark in the evening and my mother sends me to


s: I can see through my open window the watchman walking up and


s: The lane is dark and lonely, and the street-lamp stands like a


s: The watchman swings his lantern and walks with his shadow at his


s: side, and never once goes to bed in his life.


s: I wish I were a watchman walking the streets all night, chasing


s: Mother, your baby is silly!  She is so absurdly childish!


s: She does not know the difference between the lights in the


s: When we play at eating with pebbles, she thinks they are real


s: food, and tries to put them into her mouth.


s: When I open a book before her and ask her to learn her a, b, c,


s: she tears the leaves with her hands and roars for joy at nothing;


s: When I shake my head at her in anger and scold her and call her


s: naughty, she laughs and thinks it great fun.


s: Everybody knows that father is away, but if in play I call aloud


s: "Father," she looks about her in excitement and thinks that


s: When I hold my class with the donkeys that our washerman brings


s: to carry away the clothes and I warn her that I am the


s: schoolmaster, she will scream for no reason and call me dâdâ.


s: Your baby wants to catch the moon.  She is so funny; she calls


s: Ganesh Gânush.  [<i>Ganesh, a common name in India, also that of


s: Mother, your baby is silly, she is so absurdly childish!


s: I am small because I am a little child.  I shall be big when I am


s: My teacher will come and say, "It is late, bring your slate and


s: I shall tell him, "Do you not know I am as big as father?  And I


s: My master will wonder and say, "He can leave his books if he


s: I shall dress myself and walk to the fair where the crowd is


s: My uncle will come rushing up to me and say, "You will get lost,


s: I shall answer, "Can't you see, uncle, I am as big as father.  I


s: Uncle will say, "Yes, he can go wherever he likes, for he is


s: Mother will come from her bath when I am giving money to my


s: nurse, for I shall know how to open the box with my key.


s: Mother will say, "What are you about, naughty child?"


s: I shall tell her, "Mother, don't you know, I am as big as father,


s: Mother will say to herself, "He can give money to whom he likes,


s: In the holiday time in October father will come home and,


s: thinking that I am still a baby, will bring for me from the town


s: I shall say, "Father, give them to my dâdâ [<i>elder


s: brother</i>], for I am as big as you are."


s: Father will think and say, "He can buy his own clothes if he


s: Mother, I do want to leave off my lessons now.  I have been at my


s: You say it is only twelve o'clock.  Suppose it isn't any later;


s: can't you ever think it is afternoon when it is only twelve


s: I can easily imagine now that the sun has reached the edge of


s: that rice-field, and the old fisher-woman is gathering herbs for


s: I can just shut my eyes and think that the shadows are growing


s: darker under the <i>madar</i> tree, and the water in the pond


s: If twelve o'clock can come in the night, why can't the night come


s: You say that father writes a lot of books, but what he writes I


s: He was reading to you all the evening, but could you really make


s: What nice stories, mother, you can tell us!  Why can't father


s: Did he never hear from his own mother stories of giants and


s: Often when he gets late for his bath you have to go and call him


s: You wait and keep his dishes warm for him, but he goes on writing


s: If ever I go to play in father's room, you come and call me,


s: If I make the slightest noise, you say, "Don't you see that


s: What's the fun of always writing and writing?


s: When I take up father's pen or pencil and write upon his book


s: just as he does,--a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i,--why do you get


s: You never say a word when father writes.


s: When my father wastes such heaps of paper, mother, you don't seem


s: But if I take only one sheet to make a boat with, you say,


s: What do you think of father's spoiling sheets and sheets of paper


s: Why do you sit there on the floor so quiet and silent, tell me,


s: The rain is coming in through the open window, making you all


s: Do you hear the gong striking four?  It is time for my brother to


s: What has happened to you that you look so strange?


s: Haven't you got a letter from father to-day?


s: I saw the postman bringing letters in his bag for almost


s: Only, father's letters he keeps to read himself.  I am sure the


s: But don't be unhappy about that, mother dear.


s: To-morrow is market day in the next village.  You ask your maid


s: I myself will write all father's letters; you will not find a


s: You don't believe that I can write as nicely as father does!


s: But I shall rule my paper carefully, and write all the letters


s: When I finish my writing, do you think I shall be so foolish as


s: father and drop it into the horrid postman's bag?


s: I shall bring it to you myself without waiting, and letter by


s: I know the postman does not like to give you the really nice


s: Mother, let us imagine we are travelling, and passing through a


s: You are riding in a palanquin and I am trotting by you on a red


s: It is evening and the sun goes down.  The waste of


s: You are frightened and thinking--"I know not where we have come


s: I say to you, "Mother, do not be afraid."


s: The meadow is prickly with spiky grass, and through it runs a


s: There are no cattle to be seen in the wide field; they have gone


s: It grows dark and dim on the land and sky, and we cannot tell


s: Suddenly you call me and ask me in a whisper, "What light is that


s: Just then there bursts out a fearful yell, and figures come


s: You sit crouched in your palanquin and repeat the names of the


s: The bearers, shaking in terror, hide themselves in the thorny


s: I shout to you, "Don't be afraid, mother.  I am here."


s: With long sticks in their hands and hair all wild about their


s: I shout, "Have a care!  you villains!  One step more and you are


s: They give another terrible yell and rush forward.


s: You clutch my hand and say, "Dear boy, for heaven's sake, keep


s: Then I spur my horse for a wild gallop, and my sword and buckler


s: The fight becomes so fearful, mother, that it would give you a


s: cold shudder could you see it from your palanquin.


s: Many of them fly, and a great number are cut to pieces.


s: I know you are thinking, sitting all by yourself, that your boy


s: But I come to you all stained with blood, and say, "Mother, the


s: You come out and kiss me, pressing me to your heart, and you say


s: "I don't know what I should do if I hadn't my boy to escort me."


s: A thousand useless things happen day after day, and why couldn't


s: My brother would say, "Is it possible?  I always thought he was


s: Our village people would all say in amazement, "Was it not lucky


s: It is time for me to go, mother; I am going.


s: When in the paling darkness of the lonely dawn you stretch out


s: your arms for your baby in the bed, I shall say, "Baby is not


s: I shall become a delicate draught of air and caress you; and I


s: shall be ripples in the water when you bathe, and kiss you and


s: In the gusty night when the rain patters on the leaves you will


s: hear my whisper in your bed, and my laughter will flash with the


s: lightning through the open window into your room.


s: If you lie awake, thinking of your baby till late into the night,


s: On the straying moonbeams I shall steal over your bed, and lie


s: I shall become a dream, and through the little opening of your


s: eyelids I shall slip into the depths of your sleep; and when you


s: wake up and look round startled, like a twinkling firefly I shall


s: When, on the great festival of <i>puja</i>, the neighbours'


s: children come and play about the house, I shall melt into the


s: music of the flute and throb in your heart all day.


s: Dear auntie will come with <i>puja</i>-presents and will ask,


s: "Where is our baby, sister?  Mother, you will tell her softly,


s: "He is in the pupils of my eyes, he is in my body and in my


s: The night was dark when she went away, and they slept.


s: The night is dark now, and I call for her, "Come back, my


s: darling; the world is asleep; and no one would know, if you came


s: for a moment while stars are gazing at stars."


s: She went away when the trees were in bud and the spring was


s: Now the flowers are in high bloom and I call, "Come back, my


s: darling.  The children gather and scatter flowers in reckless


s: sport.  And if you come and take one little blossom no one will


s: Those that used to play are playing still, so spendthrift is


s: I listen to their chatter and call, "Come back, my darling, for


s: mother's heart is full to the brim with love, and if you come to


s: snatch only one little kiss from her no one will grudge it."


s: Ah, these jasmines, these white jasmines!


s: I seem to remember the first day when I filled my hands with


s: I have loved the sunlight, the sky and the green earth;


s: I have heard the liquid murmur of the river through the darkness


s: Autumn sunsets have come to me at the bend of a road in the


s: lonely waste, like a bride raising her veil to accept her lover.


s: Yet my memory is still sweet with the first white jasmines that I


s: Many a glad day has come in my life, and I have laughed with


s: On grey mornings of rain I have crooned many an idle song.


s: I have worn round my neck the evening wreath of <i>bakulas</i>


s: Yet my heart is sweet with the memory of the first fresh jasmines


s: O you shaggy-headed banyan tree standing on the bank of the pond,


s: Do you not remember how he sat at the window and wondered at the


s: tangle of your roots that plunged underground?


s: The women would come to fill their jars in the pond, and your


s: huge black shadow would wriggle on the water like sleep


s: Sunlight danced on the ripples like restless tiny shuttles


s: Two ducks swam by the weedy margin above their shadows, and the


s: He longed to be the wind and blow through your rustling branches,


s: Bless this little heart, this white soul that has won the kiss of


s: He loves the light of the sun, he loves the sight of his mother's


s: He has not learned to despise the dust, and to hanker after gold.


s: He has come into this land of an hundred cross-roads.


s: I know not how he chose you from the crowd, came to your door,


s: He will follow you, laughing and talking, and not a doubt in his


s: Keep his trust, lead him straight and bless him.


s: Lay your hand on his head, and pray that though the waves


s: underneath grow threatening, yet the breath from above may come


s: and fill his sails and waft him to the haven of peace.


s: Forget him not in your hurry, let him come to your heart and


s: I want to give you something, my child, for we are drifting in


s: Our lives will be carried apart, and our love forgotten.


s: But I am not so foolish as to hope that I could buy your heart


s: Young is your life, your path long, and you drink the love we


s: bring you at one draught and turn and run away from us.


s: You have your play and your playmates.  What harm is there if you


s: We, indeed, have leisure enough in old age to count the days that


s: The river runs swift with a song, breaking through all barriers.


s: But the mountain stays and remembers, and follows her with his


s: This song of mine will wind its music around you, my child, like


s: This song of mine will touch your forehead like a kiss of


s: When you are alone it will sit by your side and whisper in your


s: ear, when you are in the crowd it will fence you about with


s: My song will be like a pair of wings to your dreams, it will


s: transport your heart to the verge of the unknown.


s: It will be like the faithful star overhead when dark night is


s: My song will sit in the pupils of your eyes, and will carry your


s: And when my voice is silent in death, my song will speak in your


s: They clamour and fight, they doubt and despair, they know no end


s: Let your life come amongst them like a flame of light, my child,


s: unflickering and pure, and delight them into silence.


s: They are cruel in their greed and their envy, their words are


s: Go and stand amidst their scowling hearts, my child, and let your


s: Let them see your face, my child, and thus know the meaning of


s: all things; let them love you and thus love each other.


s: Come and take your seat in the bosom of the limitless, my child.


s: At sunrise open and raise your heart like a blossoming flower,


s: and at sunset bend your head and in silence complete the worship


s: "Come and hire me," I cried, while in the morning I was walking


s: Sword in hand, the King came in his chariot.


s: He held my hand and said, "I will hire you with my power."


s: But his power counted for nought, and he went away in his