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 Kabeerdaasji’s poetry correctly.

— Kusum Banthia

हिन्दी में पढ़िये

ज्यों तिल माँहीं तेल है, चकमक माँहीं आगि ।
तेरा साईं तुज्झ में , जाग सके तो जागि ।।

Jyon til maahii tel hai, chakamaka maanhi aag
Tera sain tujjh men, jaag sake to jaag

Like in many of his other couplets, in this couplet too Kabeerdass ji has emphasized the fact of God’s existence within the man himself. Just as oil is present inside the sesame seeds and there is fire inside the flintstone, but they are not visible outside, in the same way, the God inside a person is also not manifest in the outer world. Man, in his ignorance, tries to find Him through external means – temples, mosques, pilgrimages, worship, prayers etc. Just as oil inherent in the sesame seeds can be seen after they are crushed and rubbing reveals the fire inside the flint, in the same way we can realise the presence of God within us through the rigours of spiritual practices like meditation and concentrating our attention on our inner self. Man’s ignorance is like sleep during which one loses all knowledge of the real world. Kabeerdass ji exhorts people to wake up from this sleep of ignorance so that in the light of knowledge they can realize the Brahman within themselves.

ऐसी बानी बोलिए, मन का आपा खोय ।
औरन को सीतल करै , आपहु सीतल होय ।।

Aisii baanii boliye, man kaa aapaa khoy
Auran ko seetal karai, aapahu seetal hoy

In this couplet, Kabeerdass ji asks people to step out of their egotism and communicate with other people in a mild, courteous and amiable manner. This will give joy not only to others but to themselves as well since the happy atmosphere created by their good conduct will reflect on them also.
Kabeerdaas, ji in his couplets about social relations, always pleads for behaviour which can promote peace and harmony in society as a whole. He considers love and tolerance the essential qualities to achieve this end. In this couplet, he has used the word ‘aapaa'(आपा) in the sense of egotism. As long as a person keeps considering himself above his fellow beings, he cannot inspire love and respect for himself in others. That is why Kabeerdass ji puts shunning the ego as the first condition for promoting love, harmony and peace in society.