Mystic Kabir Songs
Song 53
What is that flute whose music
thrills me with joy?
The flame burns without a lamp;
The lotus blossoms without a root;
Flowers bloom in clusters;
The moon-bird is devoted to the moon;
With all its heart the rain-bird longs for the
shower of rain;
But upon whose love does the Lover concentrate His
entire life?
Song 54
Have you not heard the tune which
the Unstruck Music is playing?
In the midst of the chamber the harp of joy is
gently and
sweetly played; and where is the need of going
without to hear it?
If you have not drunk of the nectar of that One
Love, what boots
it though you should purge yourself of all stains?
The Kazi is searching the words of the Koran, and
instructing
others: but if his heart be not steeped in that
love, what does
it avail, though he be a teacher of men?
The Yogi dyes his garments with red: but if he knows
naught of
that colour of love, what does it avail though his
garments be tinted?
Kabīr says: "Whether I be in the temple or the
balcony, in the
camp or in the flower garden, I tell you truly that
every
moment my Lord is taking His delight in me."
Song 55
Subtle is the path of love!
Therein there is no asking and no not-asking,
There one loses one's self at His feet,
There one is immersed in the joy of the seeking:
plunged in the
deeps of love as the fish in the water.
The lover is never slow in offering his head for his
Lord's service.
Kabīr declares the secret of this love.
Song 56
He is the real Sadhu,
who can reveal the form of the Formless to the
vision of these eyes:
Who teaches the simple way of attaining Him,
that is other than rites or ceremonies:
Who does not make you close the doors,
and hold the breath, and renounce the world:
Who makes you perceive the Supreme Spirit wherever
the mind attaches itself:
Who teaches you to be still in the midst of all your
activities.
Ever immersed in bliss, having no fear in his mind,
he keeps the
spirit of union in the midst of all enjoyments.
The infinite dwelling of the Infinite
Being is everywhere: in earth, water, sky, and air:
Firm as the thunderbolt, the seat of the seeker is
established above the void.
He who is within is without: I see Him and none
else.
