Thus Spake Kabeer 28

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

कबीर सूता क्या करै, जागि न जपै मुरारि ।
एक दिन तू भी सोयगा, लंबे पाँव पसारि ।।

Kabeer soota kyaa kare, jaagi na japai muraarii
Ek din too bhii soyegaa, lambe paanv pasaari

According to Kabeerdaasji, this world is just an illusion created by Maya and when a soul comes here, it must try to free itself from this illusory prison. The way to freedom is through spiritual practices and meditation on Brahman — the Supreme Spirit.
In this couplet Kabeerdaas ji is trying to waken up a person who, lost in this mundane life, is completely unaware of the need to work for liberation of soul. Kabeerdaas ji is asking him to come to senses and start meditating on the Brahman. Life is short and a time will come when he will stretch out in the sleep that is death. Then he will have no chance to devote himself to meditation and liberation.
Note:
Muraarii is one of the names of Krishna who was incarnation of Vishnu. But, as usual, Kabeerdaas ji is using this name for the abstract Supreme Spirit.

पात झरंता यों कहे, सुनु तरुवर बनराय ।
अब के बिछड़े ना मिलेंगे, दूर पड़ेंगे जाय ।।

Paat jharantaa yon kahe, sunu taruvar banraaya
Ab ke bichhade na milenge, duur padenge jaaya

The literal meaning of this couplet is — the (dry) leaf falling from the tree is calling out to the tree and says that they are separating for ever since she will be carried somewhere far away. Kabeerdaas ji is using this as an example to remind people that they have come on this earth and lived their lives here, but a time will inevitably come when they will have to leave all this behind and go (in death) far away, never to return. He is also reminding by implication that since this is inevitable, people should take care not to be involved too much in the relations and affairs of this world.

  • Thus Spake Kabeer 01

    Kabeerdaas ji is categorized as a saint but his thoughts and compositions are not confined to religion, spirituality, meditation and…

  • Thus Spake Kabeer 02

    Kabeerdaas ji is categorized as a saint but his thoughts and compositions are not confined to religion, spirituality, meditation and…

  • Thus Spake Kabeer 03

    Kabeerdaas ji is categorized as a saint but his thoughts and compositions are not confined to religion, spirituality, meditation and…

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.