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 Kabeer’s poetry correctly.

— Kusum Banthia

हिन्दी में पढ़िये

जग में बैरी कोई नहीं, जो मन शीतल होय ।
यह आपा तो डाल दे, दया करे सब कोय ।।

Jag men bairii koii naheen, jo man sheetal hoy
Yah aapaa to daal de, dayaa kare sab koy

In this couplet Kabeerdaas ji is underlining the fact that the nature of our relationships with other people in this world is decided mainly by our own nature rather than other people and circumstances. We should banish anger and envy from our minds and remain calm and collected. If we shun ego and have love and compassion for others, then we will find no one holding any ill will or enmity towards us. In short, if we want peace and goodwill in society around us, we should keep our own minds calm and keep a control over our social behaviour.

करनी बिन कथनी कथै, अग्यानी दिन रात ।
कूकर ज्यूँ भूँकत फिरै, सुनी सुनाई बात ।।

Karanii bin kathanii kathai, agyaanii din raat
Kookar jyun bhookat firai, suni sunai baat

Kabeerdaas ji, in this couplet shows that real education is one where a person not only studies and gains knowledge but also makes it a part of his life and behaviour. If person learns something by rote and keeps repeating it before others without understanding and adapting it in his own life, he cannot be said to have gained knowledge. Kabeerdaas ji calls him ‘agyaanee’ (one who has no knowledge). He is like a dog who starts barking when he hears some other dog barking without knowing the reason or necessity for doing so. Without any rhyme or reason, he just repeats mindlessly what he has heard. This is exactly what the ‘agyaanee’ person does. In short, in order to be called ‘gyaanee’ or knowledgeable, a person should mindfully go over whatever he has learnt and internalize it as a guiding force of his life.