The Songs of Kabir (vegetarian): Songs 31 – 50, Part 2 of 2

“There is nothing but water at the holy bathing places; and I know that they are useless, for I have bathed in them. The images are all lifeless, they cannot speak; I know, for I have cried aloud to them. The Purana and the Qu’ran are mere words; lifting up the curtain, I have seen. Kabir gives utterance to the words of experience; and He knows very well that all other things are untrue.”

“Who are you, and whence do you come? Where dwells that Supreme Spirit, and how does He have His sport with all created things? The fire is in the wood; but who awakens it suddenly? Then it turns to ashes, and where goes the force of the fire? The true guru teaches that He has neither limit nor infinitude. Kabir says: ‘Brahma suits His language to the understanding of His hearer.’”

“O sadhu! purify your body in the simple way. As the seed is within the banyan tree, and within the seed are the flowers, the fruits, and the shade: So the germ is within the body, and within that germ is the body again. The fire, the air, the water, the earth, and the aether; you cannot have these outside of Him. O, Kazi, O Pundit, consider it well: what is there that is not in the soul? The water-filled pitcher is placed upon water, it has water within and without. It should not be given a name, lest it call forth the error of dualism. Kabir says: ‘Listen to the Word, the Truth, which is your essence. He speaks the Word to Himself; and He Himself is the Creator.’”

“I have stilled my restless mind, and my heart is radiant: for in Thatness I have seen beyond Thatness. In company I have seen the Comrade Himself. Living in bondage, I have set myself free: I have broken away from the clutch of all narrowness. Kabir says: ‘I have attained the unattainable, and my heart is colored with the color of love.’”

“The flute of the Infinite is played without ceasing, and its sound is love: When love renounces all limits, it reaches truth. How widely the fragrance spreads! It has no end, nothing stands in its way. The form of this melody is bright like a million suns: incomparably sounds the vina , the vina of the notes of truth.”