Kabir
7
Shall I flail with words, when love has made the space inside me full of
light?
I know the diamond is wrapped in this cloth, so why should I open it all
the time and look?
When the pan was empty, it flew up; now that it's full, why bother weighing
it?
The swan has flown to the mountain lake!
Why bother with ditches and holes any more?
The Holy One lives inside you -
Why open other eyes at all?
Kabir will tell you the truth: Listen, brother!
The Guest who makes my eyes so bright
Has made love to me.
8
I laugh when I hear the fish in the water is thirsty.
You don't grasp the fact that what is most alive of all is inside your own
house;
And so you walk from one holy city to the next with a confused look!
Kabir will tell you the truth: Go wherever you like, to Calcutta or Tibet;
If you can't find where your soul is hidden, for you the world will never
be real!
9
Experiencing nothing shut the iron gates;
The new love opens them.
The sound of the gates opening wakes the
Beautiful woman asleep.
Kabir says: Fantastic! Don't let a chance like this go by!
10
Between the conscious and the unconscious, the mind has put up a swing;
All earth creatures, even the supernovas, sway between these two trees,
And it never winds down.
Angels, animals, humans, insects by the million, also the wheeling sun and
moon;
Ages go by, and it goes on.
Everything is swinging: heaven, earth, water, fire, and the Secret One
slowly growing a body.
Kabir caught one glimpse of that; it made him a servant for life.
11
My inside, listen to me, the greatest spirit, the Teacher, is near.
Wake up, wake up!
Run to his feet -
he is standing close to your head right now.
You have slept for millions and millions of years.
Why not wake up this morning?
12
There is a flag no one sees blowing in the sky-temple.
A blue cloth has been stretched up, it is decorated
With the moon and many jewels.
The sun and the moon can be seen in that place;
When looking at that, bring your mind down to silence.
I will tell you the truth:
The man who has drunk from that liquid wanders around
Like someone insane.
13
There's a moon in my body, but I can't see it!
A moon and a sun.
A drum never touched by hands, beating, & I can't hear it!
As long as a human being worries about when he will die,
And what he has that is his,
All of his works are zero.
When affection for the I-creature and what it owns is dead,
The work of the Teacher is over.
The purpose of labor is to learn;
When you know it, the labor is over.
The apple blossom exists to create fruit;
When that comes, the petals fall.
The musk is inside the deer, but the deer does not
look for it;
it wanders around looking for grass.