Ang 1373

Kabeer, what good would it be, to be a pebble? It would only hurt the traveller on the path. Your slave, O Lord, is like the dust of the earth. ||147|| Kabeer, what then, if one could become dust? It is blown up by the wind, and sticks to the body. The humble servant of the Lord should be like water, which cleans everything. ||148|| Kabeer, what then, if one could become water? It becomes cold, then hot. The humble servant of the Lord should be just like the Lord. ||149|| The banners wave above the lofty mansions, filled with gold and beautiful women. But better than these is dry bread, if one sings the Glorious Praises of the Lord in the Society of the Saints. ||150|| Kabeer, the wilderness is better than a city, if the Lord’s devotees live there. Without my Beloved Lord, it is like the City of Death for me. ||151|| Kabeer, between the Ganges and Jamunaa Rivers, on the shore of Celestial Silence, there, Kabeer has made his home. The silent sages and the humble servants of the Lord search for the way to get there. ||152|| Kabeer, if the mortal continues to love the Lord in the end, as he pledged in the beginning, no poor diamond, not even millions of jewels, can equal him. ||153|| Kabeer, I saw a strange and wonderful thing. A jewel was being sold in a store. Because there was no buyer, it was going in exchange for a shell. ||154|| Kabeer, where there is spiritual wisdom, there is righteousness and Dharma. Where there is falsehood, there is sin. Where there is greed, there is death. Where there is forgiveness, there is God Himself. ||155|| Kabeer, what good is it to give up Maya, if the mortal does not give up his pride? Even the silent sages and seers are destroyed by pride; pride eats up everything. ||156|| Kabeer, the True Guru has met me; He aimed the Arrow of the Shabad at me. As soon as it struck me, I fell to the ground with a hole in my heart. ||157|| Kabeer, what can the True Guru do, when His Sikhs are at fault? The blind do not take in any of His Teachings; it is as useless as blowing into bamboo. ||158|| Kabeer, the wife of the king has all sorts of horses, elephants and carriages. But she is not equal to the water-carrier of the Lord’s humble servant. ||159|| Kabeer, why do you slander the wife of the king? Why do you honor the slave of the Lord? Because one combs her hair for corruption, while the other remembers the Name of the Lord. ||160|| Kabeer, with the Support of the Lord’s Pillar, I have become steady and stable. The True Guru has given me courage. Kabeer, I have purchased the diamond, on the banks of the Mansarovar Lake. ||161||

Kabeer, the Lord is the Diamond, and the Lord’s humble servant is the jeweller who has set up his shop. As soon as an appraiser is found, the price of the jewel is set. ||162|| Kabeer, you remember the Lord in meditation, only when the need arises. You should remember Him all the time. You shall dwell in the city of immortality, and the Lord shall restore the wealth you lost. ||163|| Kabeer, it is good to perform selfless service for two — the Saints and the Lord. The Lord is the Giver of liberation, and the Saint inspires us to chant the Naam. ||164|| Kabeer, the crowds follow the path which the Pandits, the religious scholars, have taken. There is a difficult and treacherous cliff on that path to the Lord; Kabeer is climbing that cliff. ||165|| Kabeer, the mortal dies of his worldly troubles and pain, after worrying about his family. Whose family is dishonored, when he is placed on the funeral pyre? ||166|| Kabeer, you shall drown, you wretched being, from worrying about what other people think. You know that whatever happens to your neighbors, will also happen to you. ||167|| Kabeer, even dry bread, made of various grains, is good. No one brags about it, throughout the vast country and great empire. ||168|| Kabeer, those who brag, shall burn. Those who do not brag remain carefree. That humble being who does not brag, looks upon the gods and the poor alike. ||169|| Kabeer, the pool is filled to overflowing, but no one can drink the water from it. By great good fortune, you have found it; drink it in handfuls, O Kabeer. ||170|| Kabeer, just as the stars disappear at dawn, so shall this body disappear. Only the letters of God’s Name do not disappear; Kabeer holds these tight. ||171|| Kabeer, the wooden house is burning on all sides. The Pandits, the religious scholars, have been burnt to death, while the illiterate ones run to safety. ||172|| Kabeer, give up your skepticism; let your papers float away. Find the essence of the letters of the alphabet, and focus your consciousness on the Lord. ||173|| Kabeer, the Saint does not forsake his Saintly nature, even though he meets with millions of evil-doers. Even when sandalwood is surrounded by snakes, it does not give up its cooling fragrance. ||174|| Kabeer, my mind is cooled and soothed; I have become God- conscious. The fire which has burnt the world is like water to the Lord’s humble servant. ||175|| Kabeer, no one knows the Play of the Creator Lord. Only the Lord Himself and the slaves at His Court understand it. ||176|| Kabeer, it is good that I feel the Fear of God; I have forgotten everything else. The hail- stone has melted into water, and flowed into the ocean. ||177||