Kabir was a saintly person born in Varanasi, India, in the 14th century. I remember reading a few of his rhyming two line couplets filled with sagely advice in my Hindi textbook in high school. Kabir used examples from everyday life and nature to illustrate his message. Recently, I came across a rendering of his dohas in musical form on YouTube.
There were no automobiles or trains or phones or television in that century.
Below is my translation of a few of his two line dohas in plain English.
1.Consuming books in this ‘mua’ (cursed?) world, nobody becomes a pundit (scholar),
A person who realizes the meaning of the two and half letter word Prem (devotional love) is a true pundit!
2. So what if you consider yourself big, like the tall tree of ‘khajoor’ (dates)
Such a tree gives no shade to the weary traveler and the fruit is very high, beyond his reach.
3. If my guru and Govind (God) were to appear in front of me at the same time, who should I worship first by touching his feet ?
Praise be to my Guru, because it was he who gave me the knowledge about God (and the path to reach him)!
4. People remember God when they are in trouble and forget him when they are happy and joyful,
Says Kabir, if they remembered God during good times also, why would they ever be unhappy and miserable?
5. A bee gets buried in sweet jaggery and struggles to get out by fluttering it's wings that become stuck together,
Tired and frustrated it buzzes, says Kabira, greed is not good !
6. Speak words in such a way, even when you loose control of your mind,
that the words purify the heart of the listener and your own heart as well!
7. Keep your true and faithful critic close to you,
without using soap and water he manages to clean your image!
8. Sai (God) give me enough to take care of my family
so I do not remain hungry nor does the sadhu who visits me (seeking bhiksa) go hungry!
9. Bathing and washing doesn't remove the filth that is in our minds,
just like the fish that smells even though it lives in water.
10. Value not the low caste of the sadhu(monk), value his knowledge and wisdom,
Just like we value the sword and not the sheath that covers it
Some additional dohas from Kabir...(Not in the video)
11. Slowly, slowly move my mind, slowly everything happens
Hundred pots of water the gardener pours but the fruit appears slowly only when the season arrives.
(Kabir says pouring more water doesn't make the plant grow any faster.It gives fruits only when the right season arrives.So also do not rush thru any task...)
