Ang 1371

Kabeer, go out to meet the holy man; do not take anyone else with you. Do not turn back — keep on going. Whatever will be, will be. ||116|| Kabeer, do not bind yourself with that chain, which binds the whole world. As the salt is lost in the flour, so shall your golden body be lost. ||117|| Kabeer, the soul-swan is flying away, and the body is being buried, and still he makes gestures. Even then, the mortal does not give up the cruel look in his eyes. ||118|| Kabeer: with my eyes, I see You, Lord; with my ears, I hear Your Name. With my tongue I chant Your Name; I enshrine Your Lotus Feet within my heart. ||119|| Kabeer, I have been spared from heaven and hell, by the Grace of the True Guru. From beginning to end, I abide in the joy of the Lord’s Lotus Feet. ||120|| Kabeer, how can I even describe the extent of the joy of the Lord’s Lotus Feet? I cannot describe its sublime glory; it has to be seen to be appreciated. ||121|| Kabeer, how can I describe what I have seen? No one will bellieve my words. The Lord is just as He is. I dwell in delight, singing His Glorious Praises. ||122|| Kabeer, the flamingo pecks and feeds, and remembers her chicks. She pecks and pecks and feeds, and remembers them always. Her chicks are very dear to her, just like the love of wealth and Maya is dear to the mortal’s mind. ||123|| Kabeer, the sky is overcast and cloudy; the ponds and lakes are overflowing with water. Like the sparrow-hawk, some remain thirsty — what is their condition? ||124|| Kabeer, the chakvi duck is separated from her love through the night, but in the morning, she meets him again. Those who are separated from the Lord do not meet Him in the day, or in the night. ||125|| Kabeer: O conch shell, remain in the ocean. If you are separated from it, you shall scream at sunrise from temple to temple. ||126|| Kabeer, what are you doing sleeping? Wake up and cry in fear and pain. Those who live in the grave — how can they sleep in peace? ||127|| Kabeer, what are you doing sleeping? Why not rise up and meditate on the Lord? One day you shall sleep with your legs outstretched. ||128|| Kabeer, what are you doing sleeping? Wake up, and sit up. Attach yourself to the One, from whom you have been separated. ||129|| Kabeer, do not leave the Society of the Saints; walk upon this Path. See them, and be sanctified; meet them, and chant the Name. ||130|| Kabeer, do not associate with the faithless cynics; run far away from them. If you touch a vessel stained with soot, some of the soot will stick to you. ||131||

Kabeer, you have not contemplated the Lord, and now old age has overtaken you. Now that the door of your mansion is on fire, what can you take out? ||132|| Kabeer, the Creator does whatever He pleases. There is none other than Him; He alone is the Creator of all. ||133|| Kabeer, the fruit trees are bearing fruit, and the mangoes are becoming ripe. They will reach the owner, only if the crows do not eat them first. ||134|| Kabeer, some buy idols and worship them; in their stubborn-mindedness, they make pilgrimages to sacred shrines. They look at one another, and wear religious robes, but they are deluded and lost. ||135|| Kabeer, someone sets up a stone idol and all the world worships it as the Lord. Those who hold to this belief will be drowned in the river of darkness. ||136|| Kabeer, the paper is the prison, and the ink of rituals are the bars on the windows. The stone idols have drowned the world, and the Pandits, the religious scholars, have plundered it on the way. ||137|| Kabeer, that which you have to do tomorrow — do it today instead; and that which you have to do now — do it immediately! Later on, you will not be able to do anything, when death hangs over your head. ||138|| Kabeer, I have seen a person, who is as shiny as washed wax. He seems very clever and very virtuous, but in reality, he is without understanding, and corrupt. ||139|| Kabeer, the Messenger of Death shall not compromise my understanding. I have meditated on the Lord, the Cherisher, who created this Messenger of Death. ||140|| Kabeer, the Lord is like musk; all His slaves are like bumble bees. The more Kabeer worships Him, the more the Lord abides within his mind. ||141|| Kabeer, the mortal has fallen into the grip of family life, and the Lord has been set aside. The messengers of the Righteous Judge of Dharma descend upon the mortal, in the midst of all his pomp and ceremony. ||142|| Kabeer, even a pig is better than the faithless cynic; at least the pig keeps the village clean. When the wretched, faithless cynic dies, no one even mentions his name. ||143|| Kabeer, the mortal gathers wealth, shell by shell, accumulating thousands and millions. But when the time of his departure comes, he takes nothing at all with him. He is even stripped of his loin-cloth. ||144|| Kabeer, what good is it to become a devotee of Vishnu, and wear four malas? On the outside, he may look like pure gold, but on the inside, he is stuffed with dust. ||145|| Kabeer, let yourself be a pebble on the path; abandon your egotistical pride. Such a humble slave shall meet the Lord God. ||146||