Ang-601 — Chapter 92
Day by day, hour by hour, life runs its course, and the body withers away.
Death, like a hunter, a butcher, is on the prowl; tell me, what can we do? ||1||
That day is rapidly approaching.
Mother, father, siblings, children and spouse - tell me, who belongs to whom? ||1||Pause||
As long as the light remains in the body, the beast does not understand himself.
He acts in greed to maintain his life and status, and sees nothing with his eyes. ||2||
Says Kabeer, listen, O mortal: Renounce the doubts of your mind.
Chant only the One Naam, the Name of the Lord, O mortal, and seek the Sanctuary of the One Lord. ||3||2||
That humble being, who knows even a little about loving devotional worship - what surprises are there for him?
Like water, dripping into water, which cannot be separated out again, so is the weaver Kabeer, with softened heart, merged into the Lord. ||1||
O people of the Lord, I am just a simple-minded fool.
If Kabeer were to leave his body at Benares, and so liberate himself, what obligation would he have to the Lord? ||1||Pause||
Says Kabeer, listen, O people - do not be deluded by doubt.
What is the difference between Benares and the barren land of Maghar, if the Lord is within one's heart? ||2||3||
Mortals may go to the Realm of Indra, or the Realm of Shiva,
but because of their hypocrisy and false prayers, they must leave again. ||1||
What should I ask for? Nothing lasts forever.
Enshrine the Lord's Name within your mind. ||1||Pause||
Fame and glory, power, wealth and glorious greatness
- none of these will go with you or help you in the end. ||2||
Children, spouse, wealth and Maya
- who has ever obtained peace from these? ||3||
Says Kabeer, nothing else is of any use.
Within my mind is the wealth of the Lord's Name. ||4||4||
Remember the Lord, remember the Lord, remember the Lord in meditation, O Siblings of Destiny.
Without remembering the Lord's Name in meditation, a great many are drowned. ||1||Pause||
Your spouse, children, body, house and possessions - you think these will give you peace.
But none of these shall be yours, when the time of death comes. ||1||
Ajaamal, the elephant, and the prostitute committed many sins,
but still, they crossed over the world-ocean, by chanting the Lord's Name. ||2||
You have wandered in reincarnation, as pigs and dogs - did you feel no shame?
Forsaking the Ambrosial Name of the Lord, why do you eat poison? ||3||
Abandon your doubts about do's and dont's, and take to the Lord's Name.
By Guru's Grace, O servant Kabeer, love the Lord. ||4||5||
Dhanaasaree, The Word Of Devotee Naam Dayv Jee:
One Universal Creator God. By The Grace Of The True Guru:
They dig deep foundations, and build lofty palaces.
Can anyone live longer than Markanda, who passed his days with only a handful of straw upon his head? ||1||
The Creator Lord is our only friend.
O man, why are you so proud? This body is only temporary - it shall pass away. ||1||Pause||
✦ 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.”