Kabeerdaas ji is categorized as a saint but his thoughts and compositions are not confined to religion, spirituality, meditation and bhajans alone.  He also deals with worldly life – the character and behaviour of individuals; practices (and malpractices) rampant in society; evils of caste system which divides people into ‘high’ and ‘low’ classes, etc.  He also goes in depth in denouncing superstitions and hypocrisy prevalent in practice of religions and sects in general.  He considers them as obstructions in the way of health, peace and happiness of society.  We should take all these things into account if we want to understand and interpret Kabeerdaas ji’s poetry correctly.

— Kusum Banthia

हिन्दी में पढ़िये

ऊँचे पानी ना टिकै, नीचे ही ठहराय ।
नीचा होय सो भरि पिवै, ऊँचा प्यासा जाय ।।

Oonche paaanii naa tikai, neeche hii thaharaay
Neechaa hoy so bhari pivai, oonchaa pyaasaa jaay

Water does not stay in a high place; it always comes downwards and stays in a lower place.  A person who bends down when he is thirsty can be satisfied by drinking as much water as he wants (अंजलि full, handful).  One who has a high stem (in the trunk) has to remain thirsty.  Here Kabeerdaas ji uses the word ‘high’ to refer to an arrogant person who does not want to be humble or bow down under any circumstances.  Due to this habit, he has to be deprived of many such facilities which are easily available to the humble person who can bend down.  People who are flexible and humble by nature adapt to the conditions and hence their goals are also achieved.  But those who are in the grip of their (wealth, intelligence, etc.), are not ready to change their ways, they cannot succeed in life.

बुरा जो देखन मैं चला , बुरा न मिलिया कोय ।
जो घर खोजा आपना , मुझसा बुरा न कोय ।।

Buraa jo deekhan mai chalaa, buraa na miliyaa koy
Jo ghar khooja aapanaa, mujhasaa buraa na koy

Kabeerdaas ji  says that when I went out in search of evil, that is, to see the evils inside the human being, I did not see anything bad.  I have never seen evil in anyone.  Then when I looked into my own house, I found that there are so many evils in me that no one else can be worse than me.  In this couplet, the attitude of the saint or gentleman is introduced.  The poet means that instead of investigating the evils of others, we should honestly pay attention to the evils within ourselves.  Because then we will also try to improve them and become better human beings. (Gentlemen are the ones who have practiced to improve themselves rather than seeing the evil of others.)