Ang-601 — Chapter 55
Says Kabeer, those humble people become pure - they become Khalsa - who know the Lord's loving devotional worship. ||4||3||
Second House||
With both of my eyes, I look around;
I don't see anything except the Lord.
My eyes gaze lovingly upon Him,
and now, I cannot speak of anything else. ||1||
My doubts were removed, and my fear ran away,
when my consciousness became attached to the Lord's Name. ||1||Pause||
When the magician beats his tambourine,
everyone comes to see the show.
When the magician winds up his show,
then he enjoys its play all alone. ||2||
By preaching sermons, one's doubt is not dispelled.
Everyone is tired of preaching and teaching.
The Lord causes the Gurmukh to understand;
his heart remains permeated with the Lord. ||3||
When the Guru grants even a bit of His Grace,
one's body, mind and entire being are absorbed into the Lord.
Says Kabeer, I am imbued with the Lord's Love;
I have met with the Life of the world, the Great Giver. ||4||4||
Let the sacred scriptures be your milk and cream,
and the ocean of the mind the churning vat.
Be the butter-churner of the Lord,
and your buttermilk shall not be wasted. ||1||
O soul-bride slave, why don't you take the Lord as your Husband?
He is the Life of the world, the Support of the breath of life. ||1||Pause||
The chain is around your neck, and the cuffs are on your feet.
The Lord has sent you wandering around from house to house.
And still, you do not meditate on the Lord, O soul-bride, slave.
Death is watching you, O wretched woman. ||2||
The Lord God is the Cause of causes.
What is in the hands of the poor soul-bride, the slave?
She awakens from her slumber,
and she becomes attached to whatever the Lord attaches her. ||3||
O soul-bride, slave, where did you obtain that wisdom,
by which you erased your inscription of doubt?
Kabeer has tasted that subtle essence;
by Guru's Grace, his mind is reconciled with the Lord. ||4||5||
Without Him, we cannot even live;
when we meet Him, then our task is completed.
People say it is good to live forever,
but without dying, there is no life. ||1||
So now, what sort wisdom should I contemplate and preach?
As I watch, worldly things dissipate. ||1||Pause||
Saffron is ground up, and mixed with sandalwood;
without eyes, the world is seen.
The son has given birth to his father;
without a place, the city has been established. ||2||
The humble beggar has found the Great Giver,
but he is unable to eat what he has been given.
He cannot leave it alone, but it is never exhausted.
He shall not go to beg from others any longer. ||3||
Those select few, who know how to die while yet alive,
Enjoy great peace.
Kabeer has found that wealth;
meeting with the Lord, he has erased his self-conceit. ||4||6||
What use is it to read, and what use is it to study?
What use is it to listen to the Vedas and the Puraanas?
What use is reading and listening,
if celestial peace is not attained? ||1||
The fool does not chant the Name of the Lord.
So what does he think of, over and over again? ||1||Pause||
In the darkness, we need a lamp
✦ Connected Across Traditions
The Golden Rule
Matthew 7:12
“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
Hadith (An-Nawawi 13)
“None of you truly believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself.”
Leviticus 19:18
“Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Mahabharata 5.1517
“One should never do to another what one regards as injurious to oneself.”
Impermanence & Letting Go
Dhammapada 20:277
“All conditioned things are impermanent. When one sees this with wisdom, one turns away from suffering.”
Tao Te Ching 76
“A man is born gentle and weak. At his death he is hard and stiff. The soft and yielding is the disciple of life.”
Ecclesiastes 3:1-2
“To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven.”
Bhagavad Gita 2:22
“As a person puts on new garments, giving up old ones, the soul similarly accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones.”
The Path to Wisdom
Proverbs 4:7
“Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding.”
Dhammapada 20:282
“Wisdom springs from meditation; without meditation wisdom wanes.”
Analects 2:11
“If you study the past and use it to understand the present, you are worthy of being a teacher.”
Tao Te Ching 33
“Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom.”
Humility & Surrender
Bhagavad Gita 18:66
“Abandon all varieties of dharma and simply surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions; do not fear.”
Matthew 5:5
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”
Tao Te Ching 22
“If you want to become whole, let yourself be partial. If you want to become full, let yourself be empty.”
Quran 2:45
“Seek help through patience and prayer. It is indeed exacting, but not for those who are humble.”
Good vs Evil / Light vs Darkness
Yasna 30:3
“Now the two primal Spirits, who reveal themselves as Twins, are the Better and the Bad, in thought and word and action.”
John 1:5
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
Dhammapada 1:1-2
“Mind is the forerunner of all actions. If one speaks or acts with a pure mind, happiness follows like a shadow.”
Genesis 1:3
“And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.”