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

जब मैं था तब हरि नहीं, अब हरि हैं मैं नाहिं ।
प्रेम गली अति साँकरी, ता में दो न समाहिं ।।

Jab main thaa tab hari naheen, ab Hari hain main naahhin
Prem galii ati saankarii, ta men do na samaahin

In this couplet, Kabeerdaas ji says, “When ‘I’ was there, God was not there. Now, that God is there, ‘I’ am not there. The alley of love is too narrow to accommodate two persons.” He wants to highlight that love – worldly or spiritual — cannot coexist with ego. As long as we are aware of our independent existence, a sense of being someone, we will not be able to find God. Once we give up our ego and surrender ourselves unconditionally, God will fill our existence and the sense of being an independent, a different entity will completely vanish.
Note:
Kabeerdaas ji often uses the names like Hari (Vshnu), Govind (Krishna), Ram etc. for God. The gods thus mentioned are from Hindu mythology (Puraana) and they have their own form, appearance and attributes. The Supreme Being Kabeerdaas ji meditates on is abstract, without any form or attributes. It is ultimate, absolute Consciousness. Whatever name Kabeer uses, they should not be confused with Gods of mythology.

समदृष्टी सतगुरु किया, मेटा भरम विकार ।
जहँ देखो तहँ एक ही, साहिब का दीदार ।।

Samdrushtii sataguru kiyaa, metaa bharam vikaar
Jahan dekho tahan eek hii, saahib kaa deedaar

Kabeerdaas ji attaches great importance to guru whose guidance is essential for the disciple. Sadguru is one who himself has attained true knowledge and has the calibre to guide the disciple out of the maze of illusion and set him on the way to realisation of God.
In this couplet Kabeerdaas ji says, ‘The sadguru has given me the correct perspective to look at the world. Now I know that this world is just an illusion created by Maya (who lures people away from Real Truth). Now I have realised the existence of God and even in this illusory world, it is the Master of the Universe that I see everywhere.’
In this couplet, Kabeerdaas ji is talking not only about the ecstasy resulting from attainment of knowledge, but, in a way, also paying a tribute to Guru.